COMPLETE RESULTS
When and Where: March 26, 2016 – Middletown, Conn. (Wesleyan University)
Results: No Team Scores
Junior Sahara Brown (Center Barnstead, N.H.) captured the javelin throw, and the relay team of junior Skyler Shugrue (Worcester, Mass.), freshmen Sydney Blais (Pascoag, R.I.), Maddie Holt (Seabrook, N.H.) and Kylie Lorenzen (Holliston, Mass.) cruised to victory in the 4x100-meter event to highlight the Southern New Hampshire University women's track and field inaugural outdoor meet on Saturday.
Brown fired the javelin 43.07 meters, which topped the 28-competitor field and the second-place finisher by 1.17 meters. She also provisionally qualified for the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track and Field Championships after eclipsing the 40.37-meter qualifying standard. Classmate Melissa Handy (Durham, Conn.) also turned in a top-20 performance in the javelin with a 23.12-meter toss to check in at No. 17.
In the 4x100-meter relay, the Penmen cruised to a victory in 51.02 seconds. Shugrue, Lorenzen, Blais and Holt bested second-place Asa College (52.41) as well as third-place Smith College (52.39) by nearly a second and a half.
Senior Gitara King (Manchester, N.H.) led a trio of Southern New Hampshire finishers in the top-20 of the 100-meter dash. King placed fourth in 13.30 seconds, followed by Shugrue in eighth place at 13.40. Blais crossed at No. 15 with a time of 13.72, and Holt rounded out the Penmen contingent in 14.61.
SNHU had a strong showing in the 200-meter dash as well, with four student-athletes completing the 60-runner race in the top-25. Lorenzen was sixth in 27.14 seconds before King used a 27.81 showing to finish at No. 12. Blais was next across the line for the Penmen at No. 18 in 28.23, and Shugrue was 22nd with a time of 28.39. Holy narrowly missed out on the top-25 after completing the event in 30.35.
Senior Laura O'Hanlon (Dedham, Mass.) turned in a top-five finish in the 3,000-meter run, and sophomore Kaitlin McCauley (Waltham, Mass.) placed in the top-25 for Southern New Hampshire. O'Hanlon was fourth with a time of 10 minutes, 42.40 seconds before McCauley came in at 11 minutes, 49.78 seconds.
Sophomore Amber Herrington (Burlington Township, N.J.) nabbed a top-five placement of her own in the 400-meter hurdles. Her time of 1:11.60 was good enough to slot her ahead of the remaining 11 competitors, including junior Megan Brown (Derry, N.H.), who posted a time of 1:33.28.
The Penmen sent a pair of relay teams out for the 4x400-meter event, and the Southern New Hampshire "A" team finished seventh overall and was the second Division II team to complete the race. Freshman Gabby Richardson (Litchfield, N.H.) joined Herrington, Lorenzen and King to earn a time of 4:22.02. The Penmen "B" team consisting of sophomore Maddie Bardier (Pembroke, N.H.), Blais, Brown and Shugrue came in at No. 11 in 5:00.25.
Four SNHU student-athletes rounded out the track events with the 1,500-meter run. Freshman Ashley Dennis (Coventry, R.I.) led the way in 5:38.78, before junior Felicia Dowling (Merrimack, N.H.) crossed in 5:52.50. Classmate Devanee Ebert (Reading, Mass.) traversed the event in 6:28.86 before freshman Rael Gallucci (Wilmington, Mass.) turned in a time of 6:48.65.
The discus event featured all-four of the Penmen throwers cracking the top-20. Freshman Ashley Elder (Bristol, Conn.) led the way with a third-place toss of 38.30 meters, and Brown was right behind her in fourth after throw of 33.20 meters. Handy narrowly missed out on the top-10 and settled for No. 11 with a heave of 30.05 and sophomore Melissa Melanson's (Goffstown, N.H.) 26.21-meter finish placed her at No. 20.
In the long jump, Lorenzen paced Southern New Hampshire with a sixth-place finish, while Blais checked in at No. 14 and Bardier at No. 27. Lorenzen launched 4.84 meters, Blais travelled 4.32 and Bardier landed 3.44 meters from the line.
Elder continued her successful meet with a seventh-place outing in the shot put. She fired a 10.62-meter throw to check into the top-10, and Handy joined her after firing a 10.06-meter toss to finish ninth.
The Penmen wrapped up the day with the hammer throw. Elder's toss of 36.31 meters was good enough for No. 11, and Melanson finished just behind her at No. 13 and a throw of 35.40 meters.
Notes:
- Shugrue also took part in the 100-meter hurdles, and she finished No. 19 in 19.12 second. Bardier competed in the 400-meter dash as well as the triple jump, and checked in at No. 26 in 1:13.37 for the 400, and No. 23 in the triple jump with an 8.77-meter performance.
- Nine Penmen competitors set personal bests during Saturday's event.
What's Next:
Southern New Hampshire is back in action on Saturday (April 2) when it makes the trip to Dartmouth, Massachusetts for the UMass-Dartmouth Invite at 10 a.m.
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