Track & Field Gears Up for Postseason with Stellar Performances at BU, MIT
Links: BU D.H. Valentine Results | MIT G.K. Results
BOSTON, Mass. – As they prepare for the Northeast-10 Conference Indoor Championships next weekend, the Merrimack College men's and women's track and field teams continued to build on one of the most impressive indoor seasons in school history at the David Hemery Valentine Invitational at Boston University and the Gordon Kelly Invitational at MIT this past weekend.
The Basics
Events: David Hemery Valentine Invitational | Gordon Kelly Invitational
Top Finishers: Women: Barnett (3rd – High Jump @ MIT)) | Men: Clarke (1st – High Jump @ MIT), Livingston (1st – Long Jump @ MIT)
Location: Boston, Mass. | Cambridge, Mass.
What They Said
Head coach Jacky Mendes, "The Gordon Kelly Invitational and D.H. Valentine Invitational were great meets for the Warriors to fine tune before the beginning of the postseason next weekend. We had some outstanding performances in many events once again."
How It Happened
The Warriors were dispersed semi-evenly across the two different meets this weekend, with some athletes making their return to Boston University for the third straight weekend to compete in their respective events.
While they were unable to top the school-record run that happened at BU just two weeks ago the, the women's 4x400m relay team of junior captain Carly Muscaro (Ashland, Mass.), juniorOlivia Downey (Melrose, Mass.), sophomore Kiana Weary (Brockton, Mass.) and freshmanMariessa Ricciardi (Holden, Mass.) posted the second-best time in school history (3:50.59) at BU, finishing seventh in the field of 53, featuring plenty Division I competition. Muscaro also ran a school record and NCAA Provisional Qualifying time in the 200m at the meet (24.31), finishing 12th in the field of 239.
Downey's individual performance would come in the 400m, running a time of 57.76 for 44th in the field of 197 and second on the school record board. Senior captain Bethany Labossier (Derry, N.H.) also ran well for the Warriors at BU, finishing 25th out of 57 in the 500m with a time of 1:19.48.
Sophomore Connor Murphy (Paxton, Mass.) had an NEICAAA qualifying run for the men at BU in the 800m, posting a time of 1:55.97 that is also third on the school record board. Senior captainTaylor Jean-Gilles (Woburn, Mass.) ran the 200m for the Warriors in a time of 22.48, grabbing a 66th-place finish in the field of 211. Former NE-10 Rookie of the Week freshmanJuwan Hall (Waterbury, Conn.) continues to run well in the 60m, posting a 24th-place finish in the field of 97 with a time of 7.09.
The smaller field at the Gordon Kelly Invitational helped the men grab two first-place finishes at MIT. Senior Denzel Livingston (Billerica, Mass.) won the long jump at the meet with a 6.77m jump, while sophomore Kenny Clarke (Oakland, N.J.) won the high jump with a 1.93m jump two post the two top finishes for Merrimack on the day.
Sophomore Niall Coughlin (Castleton, N.Y.) finished second in the 800m at MIT with a time of 2:04.19, while freshman Michael Cuesta (South Portland, Maine) posted the same finish in the triple jump (13.71m) as well as a seventh-place finish in the long jump ((6.26m)
Sarah Barnett (Bridgewater, Mass.)led the way for the women at MIT with a third-place finish in the high jump (1.62m) while also finishing seventh in the 60m (8.17). Freshman Tori Daigle (Dayton, Maine) also shined for the women, posting three fourth-place finishes in three different events, those being the 60m hurdles (9.59), the long jump (5.15m), and the triple jump (10.68m). Her 60m hurdles time ranks third on the school record board, while her triple jump ranks second.
Up Next
The Warriors will compete in the NE-10 Indoor Championships on Saturday at the Reggie Lewis Center in Boston as they enter the indoor postseason.
--
For continuing coverage of Merrimack College Athletics, visit MerrimackAthletics.com and follow the Warriors on Twitter and on Facebook.
