RESULTS
When and Where: December 9, 2016 – Plymouth, N.H. (Plymouth State University)
Result: Southern New Hampshire University – 2nd/6 (99 points)
Sophomore Ashley Elder (Bristol, Conn.), junior Amber Herrington (Burlington Township, N.J.) and freshman Alanna Murphy (Nashua, N.H.) each captured individual events on Friday to help lead the Southern New Hampshire University women's track and field team to a second-place finish at the Plymouth State University Winter Classic.
Elder set a new personal best in the shot put with a heave of 11.61 meters to take the top spot. Herrington cleared a height of 1.47 meters in the high jump to tie for first, while Murphy turned in a distance of 10.09 meters in the triple jump to ease her way to victory. Murphy traveled .26 meters farther than the second-place finisher, and was over half a meter better than third.
Elder outdistanced her closest competitor by .13 meters, and she was joined in the top-10 of the event by senior Melissa Handy (Durham, Conn.) Handy set a new personal record of 10.26 meters to finish seventh. Classmate Sahara Brown (Center Barnstead, N.H.) narrowly missed out on the top-10, as she finished No. 12 overall with a 9.04-meter toss. Freshman Jalisa Allen (Foxboro, Mass.) fired the shot put 8.72 meters, and she was immediately followed by classmate Leah Carfagno (Billerica, Mass.) with an 8.44-meter performance, junior Ashlee Carper (Plattsburgh, N.Y.) with a 7.92-meter throw and junior Yawa Agbenowossi (Manchester, N.H.) with a toss of 7.79 meters.
Herrington finished atop the high jump leaderboard with Nicole Galewski of Franklin Pierce University. Carper was also among the top-five finishers, as she was fifth after clearing 1.29 meters.
In the weight throw, Elder turned in another top-five finish while Carfagno was just one spot away from the top-10. Elder hurled the weight 13.38 meters to place fourth, and Carfagno checked in at No. 11 with a throw of 7.30 meters.
Southern New Hampshire placed four student-athletes in the top-10 of both the 60-meter dash and the 200-meter dash. In the 60-meter dash, sophomore Sydney Blais (Pascoag, R.I.) led the Penmen with a fifth-place performance in 8.44 seconds. Senior Gitara King (Manchester, N.H.) crossed the finish line just behind her in 8.50 seconds to finish sixth, while classmate Skyler Shugrue (Worcester, Mass.) checked in at No. 7 in 8.52 seconds. Murphy rounded out the top-10 contingent for SNHU in 8.58 seconds, which was ninth overall. Herrington and Carper were next in for the Penmen in 8.73 and 8.78 seconds, respectively, before freshman Savannah Reinitzer (Litchfield, N.H.) clocked an official time of 8.90 seconds. Senior Megan Brown (Derry, N.H.) turned in a time of 9.21 seconds, and junior Taylor Downs (West Lebanon, N.H.) completed the group of Penmen harriers in 9.84 seconds.
In the 200-meter dash, Blais was again the first Southern New Hampshire finisher in 27.86 seconds, good enough for third in the event. King was sixth overall in 28.82, before Murphy zipped in right behind her in seventh with a time of 28.86. Shugrue's showing of 29.59 seconds put her ninth, while Reinitzer's time of 30.51 was just one spot outside the top-10. Brown was the sixth Penmen to cross the finish line in 34.16, and Downs was just behind her in 35.96.
Both Penmen relay teams finished in the top-four of their respective distances. The 4x400-meter relay team of Blais, Herrington, Murphy and Reinitzer were second in 4 minutes, 24.90 seconds. The 4x200-meter squad of Shugrue, freshman Natalie Gallagher (Windham, N.H.), King and Carper were fourth in 2:01.66.
Notes:
- Franklin Pierce took home the team title with a combined score of 135 points. Fitchburg State University was third with 98 points, followed by Keene State University with 85 points, the hosts Panthers (81) finished fifth and Colby-Sawyer College (36) was sixth.
- Reinitzer turned in her finest showing of the day in the 400-meter dash, taking second in 1 minute, 8.21 seconds. Brown also cracked the top-five in the event with a time of 1:18.46.
- Murphy garnered another top-five finish in the 60-meter hurdles. She navigated the event in 9.68 seconds, which was the third fastest time, and she was joined in the top-10 by Carper, who clocked in at 10.46 to finish sixth.
- Carper also took part in the 800 meter run, where she generated a time of 3 minutes, 1.13 seconds.
What's Next:
Southern New Hampshire is idle until January 21, 2017 when it heads back to Plymouth State University to take part in the Panther Invite.
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