Women Place Third, Men Land Sixth in Best-Ever Finishes for Track & Field at NE-10 Championship
Links: Women Results | Men Results
BOSTON, Mass. – Thanks to some historic performances on from both teams, including the Co-Women's Most Outstanding Track Performer in junior captain Carly Muscaro (Ashland, Mass.) and four top-three finishes from the men, the women would place third and the men sixth for the best finishes in the Merrimack College track & field teams' six-year history at the Northeast-10 Conference Championship on Saturday.
The Basics
Event: Northeast-10 Conference Championship
Results: Women (3rd/11) | Men (6th/11)
Top Finishers: Women: Muscaro (1st – 200m, 400m), Barnett (1st – LJ) | Men: Hall (2nd – 60m)
Location: Reggie Lewis Center | Boston, Mass.
What They Said
Head coach Jacky Mendes, "Following up on the tremendous success we had during the regular season, the Warriors delivered once again as they posted the best team scores in program history. There were some absolutely amazing performances, most notably Muscaro taking the 200m title and 2nd rank in Division II and Barnett shattering her long jump school record and earning her second NCAA provisional qualifying mark of the year. The NE-10 Championship showed that this is a new team, better than ever before, and on track to keep climbing to the top."
How It Happened
After arguably the best indoor regular season in the programs history, the Warriors picked up right where they left off in their first week of the postseason with stellar performances at the conference championship. The men saw their best finish come from freshman Juwan Hall (Waterbury, Conn.), who has burst on to the scene in the latter half of the season, posting a second-place finish in the 60m with school-record time of 6.91, which is also an NEICAAA qualifier.
The men saw more success on the track from their underclassmen, as freshman Jacob Robinson (Riverhead, N.Y.) finished third in the 200m (22.25) and fourth in the 400m (50.35) for two top-five finishes. His 400m time in second in school history. Sophomore Connor Murphy (Paxton, Mass.) nabbed a fifth-place finish in the 800m (1:55.75) with the second-best time in school history in the event, while fellow sophomore Niall Coughlin (Castleton, N.Y.) placed sixth in the mile with a time of 4:25.57.
Junior field standout John Braga (North Reading, Mass.) shined in three different event for the Warriors, including fifth in the pole vault with a school record 4.11m vault. He also placed third in the long jump (7.15m) and the high jump (1.99m) to grab some big points for the team. Braga and Murphy were also joined by junior Cameron Ricci (Warwick, R.I.) and freshman Tyler Lebel (Saco, Maine) to place fourth in the 4x400m relay with the second-best time in school history (3:26.69).
As she has done all season, Muscaro put on a pair of dominating performances at the conference championships this past Saturday, posting two first-place finishes in the 200m (24.10), with the second-best time in Division II in the event, and the 400m (54.46), breaking her met record in the event from last season by almost half a second. Junior Sarah Barnett (Bridgewater, Mass.) joined Muscaro in the winner's circle, winning the long jump and breaking her school record with a 5.74m jump. It's her second NCAA provisional qualifier of the year and ranks 23rd in Division II. She also placed fourth in the 60m hurdles (9.30).
Junior Olivia Downey (Melrose, Mass.) found some success of her own on the track, placing second in the 500m with a time of 1:16.04. She also finished third in the high jump with a 1.61m jump. Freshman Michaela Pernell (Naugatuck, Conn.), who has thrived in the 60m all season, finished third in the event with a time of 7.72, She also finished fourth in the 200m behind Muscaro (25.21)
Senior captain Bethany Labossier (Derry, N.H.) ran to a fifth-place finish in the 800m with the third-best time in school history (1:19.44), and posted the same finish in the high jump (1.56m). Rounding out the individual top-five finishes was sophomore Kylie Reardon (Billerica, Mass.), finishing fourth in the 1000m with a time of 3:05.52, which is second on the school record board.
Labossier would also be joined by Muscaro, freshman Mariessa Ricciardi (Holden, Mass.) and sophomore Kiana Weary (Brockton, Mass.) to place second in the 4x400m relay (3:55.24).
Final Men's Team Standings
1) American Int'l 177
2) So. Connecticut 121.50
3) Franklin Pierce 81
4) Stonehill 79
5) New Haven 67
6) Merrimack 63
7) Bentley 54
8) Adelphi 47.50
9) Saint Rose 29
10) Assumption 20
11) Le Moyne 2
Final Women's Team Standings
1) Stonehill 157.50
2) So. Connecticut 144
3) Merrimack 116
4) New Haven 78
5) American Int'l 65
6) Adelphi 56
7) Assumption 48.50
8) Franklin Pierce 41
9) Saint Rose 22
10) Bentley 12
11) Le Moyne 1
Up Next
The Warriors conclude the indoor season at the New England Championships next weekend on Friday and Saturday at Boston University.
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