Knox wins Stonehill's fifth-straight 1500-meter individual title
Sexton, Tobin, Colarusso (left-right) finished third, first, and second, respectively in the pole vault |
NEW HAVEN, Conn. (May 4, 2018) – The Stonehill College women's track and field team, ranked first in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) NCAA Division II East Regional Computer Rankings and first in the Northeast-10 Conference Pre-Championship Coaches' Poll, sits first after day one of competition at the NE10 Outdoor Championships at Jess Dow Field, hosted by Southern Connecticut State University, Friday.
After seven scored events on day one of the championships, Stonehill is first with 91 points and 12 All-Conference honors, while Assumption College follows in second with 54.50 points. Southern Connecticut State University sits third, not far behind with 47.50 points, American International College totaled 18 points, and Adelphi University combined for 15 points, good for fourth and fifth, respectively.
The Skyhawks three pole vaulters Alison Tobin (Hudson, Massachusetts/Hudson), Ashley Colarusso (Tewksbury, Massachusetts/Tewksbury Memorial), and Alexandra Sexton (Los Gatos, California/Los Gatos) swept the top-three spots for the second-straight championship this year. Tobin cleared a height of 12 feet, nine inches for a new school record and improving her spot on the NCAA Division II performance list. Colarusso and Sexton hit a height of 11 feet 5.25 inches for second and third place, respectively. They all took home All-Conference honors, matching their results from indoor championships.
Four Skyhawks in the 1500-meter run swept the top four spots in the event, where senior Emily Knox (Worcester, Massachusetts/Notre Dame Academy) led the way with the individual title with a time of 4:38.36. Knox was the runner-up in last year's event and she captured Stonehill's fiffth-straight individual title. Junior Elizabeth Hannon (Franklin, Massachusetts/Bishop Feehan) followed with a time of 4:38.57 qualifying her for New England's, while classmate Jillian Caiazzi (Marlborough, Massachusetts/Marlborough) also took home All-Conference honors with her third-place result and a time of 4:41.88. Anna Lastra (Bridgton, Maine/Fryeburg Academy) fell just shy of an All-Conference honor with her fourth-place mark and a time of 4:42, as Alyssa Freeman (Billerica, Massachusetts/Billerica Memorial) was the last Skyhawk to earn points for the team with her sixth-place result and a time of 4:48.64.
Junior Olivia Dexter (East Calais, Vermont/Union 32) earned her first All-Conference honor of the weekend with a second-place mark in the long jump and a measurement of 19 feet, 1.25 inches. Tobin also competed in the event, taking home sixth and a mark of 18 feet, seven inches. Both Skyhawks' marks qualified them for New England Championship's, their third event each.
All four Skyhawks in the 10000-meter run tallied points for the team, as senior Abby Hersom (Rockland, Maine/Oceanside), led the way with a third-place finish and an All-Conference time of 40:01.61 qualifying her for New England's. Freshman Samantha Curtin (Plymouth, Massachusetts/Plymouth North) wasn't far from Hersom as she clocked in a time of 40:01.92 taking home fourth also qualifying her for New England's. Juniors Jackie Cutillo (Foxboro, Massachusetts/Bishop Feehan) and Taylor Landers (North Andover, Massachusetts/Pingree School) finished with times of 40:59.88, good for seventh and 41:24.15, good for eighth, respectively.
The 4x800-meter relay team of Lastra, Claire Hurtado (Newington, Connecticut/Northwest Catholic), Kelly Higgins (Weymouth, Massachusetts/Weymouth), and Hannon also earned an All-Conference honor finishing second out of 12 teams clocking in a time of 9:21.19. Lastra was the lead leg and clocked a time of 2:21.13 and she handed the baton off to Hurtado who ran the laps in 2:21.70. Higgins took on the third leg of the relay and clocked in a time of 2:21.68, while Hannon was the anchor leg with a time of 2:16.69.
Sophomore Jesica Litwa (Seymour, Massachusetts/Seymour) placed seventh in the hammer throw with a toss of 154 feet, three inches, breaking Maggie Lepley's school record of 140 feet, eight inches that she set in April of 2015 at the Minutemen Invitational.
The 1500-meter crew swept first-fourth place, with Knox (third from left) taking home the individual title |
Colleen Perry (Weymouth, Massachusetts/Weymouth) is currently in fifth place after four events of the Heptathlon and Jenna Raffael (North Reading, Massachusetts/North Reading) sits ninth over 13 competitors. Raffael took home fifth in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 15.94, while Perry fell right behind her in sixth with a time of 15.97. In the high jump, Perry finished fourth with a height of five feet, 0.5 inches, as Raffael finished in 12th with a jump of 4.26 feet. Perry took home seventh in the shot put with a toss of 29.13 feet, and Raffael finished 10th with a measurement of 26.37 feet. Perry and Raffael placed back-to back once again in the 200-meter dash as Perry took the top spot for seventh with a time of 27.49 as Raffael clocked in at 28.09, good for eighth.
Dexter also ran in the 100-meter preliminary race finishing second among 26 competitors with her time of 12.12. Senior Emily Polvere (Somers, New York/Somers) also qualified for finals with her time of 12.41, good for fourth overall, while Tobin clocked in at 12.16 also qualifying for finals with a time of 12.16.
Dexter and Polvere also qualified for the 200-meter dash finals, as Dexter placed fourth overall 28 competitors with a time of 25.01 and Polvere clocked in at 25.23, good for seventh and a New England qualifying time for her second event.
Stonehill saw its two 100-meter hurdlers qualify for finals, as freshman Casey Gannon (Warwick, Rhode Island/Toll Gate) placed fifth with a time of 14.97 and Zoe Smith (Rochester, Massachusetts/Old Rochester Regional) earned eighth clocking in a time of 15.21.
Stonehill will continue competing at Jess Dow Field in day two of the NE10 Championships. Competition will begin at 9:30 a.m. with the Heptathlon, followed by the field events starting at 10:15 a.m. and the track events at 12:30 p.m.
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