RESULTS
When and Where: April 23, 2016 – Middletown, Conn. (Wesleyan University)
Scores: Non-team scored meet
Junior Laura O'Hanlon (Dedham, Mass.) captured the 5000 meter run, while a total of four Penmen put forth Northeast-10 Conference Championship qualifying efforts as the Southern New Hampshire University women's track and field team was in action at the J. Elmer Swanson Invitational on the Campus of Wesleyan University on Saturday.
O'Hanlon blew away the competition on Saturday with a time of 17 minutes, 56.77 seconds, which was more than two minutes faster than the second-place finisher. Her time bested the NE-10 qualifying standards by 2:25 and was just over 30 seconds away from provisionally qualifying for the NCAA Division II National Championship.
As a team, Southern New Hampshire combined to place four student-athletes within the top six. Junior Felicia Dowling (Merrimack, N.H.) was the first Penmen across the line after O'Hanlon in 20:14.05 to finish fourth and also qualify for the Northeast-10 Championship. Sophomore Kaitlin McCauley (Waltham, Mass.) checked in at No. 5 in 21:13.06 before freshman Ashley Dennis (Coventry, R.I.) rounded out the SNHU contingent in sixth with a time of 21:34.55.
Freshman Mary Claffey (Burlington, Conn.) also earned a berth in the Conference Championship with her performance in the 400 meter dash. Claffey turned in an official time of one minute, 5.83 seconds to eclipse the benchmark by 17-hundredths of a second and slotted her seventh at the meet. Freshman Gabrielle Richardson (Litchfield, N.H.) narrowly missed out on the standard, as she finished No. 11 overall in 1:09.71.
Sophomore Maddie Bardier (Pembroke, N.H.) was the final Southern New Hampshire student-athlete to merit Northeast-10 Conference Championship qualifications with a strong showing in the triple jump. Bardier placed fourth after launching 9.52 meters to easily surpass the 9.14-meter criterion as well as her previous personal best of 9.10 meters.
Bardier turned in another personal record in the 1500 meter run after crossing the line in five minutes, 47.83 seconds. Richardson traversed the track in 5:32.97 to check in at No. 13 overall for the meet.
Freshman Sydney Blais (Pascoag, R.I.) and junior Skyler Shugrue (Worcester, Mass.) each set new individual benchmarks on Saturday. Blais propelled herself 4.48 meters in the long jump to ease past her prior top mark of 4.32 meters. She finished sixth in both the long jump and the 100 meter dash, where she chalked up a time of 13.53 seconds. Shugrue, whose previous best 100 meter hurdles time of 18.09 seconds earned her a spot in the Northeast-10 Conference Championship, set a new top time of 17.07 seconds.
Notes:
- Claffey also took part in the pole vault, where she climbed to a height of 2.75 meters.
- With four new Northeast-10 Championship qualifiers on Saturday, Southern New Hampshire has now 27 student-athletes in 15 events heading to the league's final meet.
What's Next:
The Penmen return to the track on Sunday, May 1st when they head to Weston, Massachusetts for the Regis College Pride Classic at 10 a.m.
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