Nationals Tickets Punched as Track & Field Concludes Indoor Season at New England Championship
Links: Results
BOSTON, Mass. – With the women's performances highlighted by junior captain Carly Muscaro (Ashland, Mass.) continuing to build on her remarkable third season by breaking her own New England Collegiate record from earlier this season in the 400m, and junior John Braga (North Reading, Mass.) for the men with his Nationals invite-worthy showing in the heptathlon, the Merrimack College men's and #14 women's track & field teams capped off their best indoor season ever with outstanding performances at the New England (NEICAAA) Championships this past weekend.
The Basics
Event: New England Championship
Results: Women (15th/32) | Men (24th/36)
Top Finishers: Women: Muscaro (1st – 400m) | Men: Braga (2nd – Heptathlon)
Location: Boston University | Boston, Mass.
What They Said
Head coach Jacky Mendes, "This was the most successful NEICAAA Championship in Merrimack history. We had some critical do-or-die situations this weekend, and everyone delivered who needed to. Carly Muscaro improved her #1 rank in the 400m with a personal record, and John Braga had the weekend of his life in the heptathlon, shattering his school record by over 300 points and earning #4 in Division II. He also broke the meet record in the heptathlon long jump and punched his ticket to Nationals, the first male athlete to do so. The women's 4x400m relay demolished expectations by clocking in at 3:44.89, bettering the school record by almost 5 seconds and also punching a ticket to Nationals. On the biggest day of their athletic careers to date, the Warriors went above and beyond. This season has been a dream, and we look forward to continue living it at the NCAA Championship."
How It Happened
While it has started to become commonplace, the records Muscaro continues to set during her junior campaign are nothing short of amazing. After setting the New England Intercollegiate record in the 400m just a month ago, the Ashland, Massachusetts native broke that record yet again by nearly a half second at the New England Championship, improving her top time in Division II to a blistering 52.43. She will run the event at Nationals in a few weeks.
Muscaro and the women's 4x400m relay team also shined at New England's, as junior Olivia Downey (Melrose, Mass.), sophomore Kiana Weary (Brockton, Mass.) and freshmanMariessa Ricciardi (Holden, Mass.) joined Muscaro to shatter the school record in the event and run the fourth-fastest time in Division II this season (3:44.89) and earning themselves a trip to Nationals. The women's 4x800m team of senior captain Bethany Labossier (Derry, N.H.), sophomore Hannah Tavares (Cumberland, R.I.) and freshmen Margaret Byrne (West Hartford, Conn.) and Katherine Tamulionis (Foxboro, Mass.) also had school-record performance in their event with a time of 9:34.47.
Junior Sarah Barnett (Bridgewater, Mass.) also performed well in her signature that is the pentathlon, finishing ninth at the New England Championship with a score of 3209.
Braga put together one of the most impressive weekends ever by a male for the Warriors on what was the biggest stage of the season, as he would notch a second-place finish in the heptathlon with a score of 5307, beating the school record by over 300 points and ranking fourth in all of Division II this season. The junior won three of the seven events, including an incredible school and meet record long jump of 7.20m, good enough for 29th in Division II.
Freshman Jacob Robinson (Riverhead, N.Y.) capped off his quality rookie indoor season with a nice day at New England's, running the second-best time in school history in the 400m (50.25) and doing the same in the 200m (21.99), finishing ninth overall in the event. Junior Phil Harris (Plymouth, Mass.) also posted a 17th-place finish in the 5000m, setting a school record with a time of15:19.95.
Sophomore Kenny Clarke (Oakland, N.J.), who enjoyed a solid second season specializing in jumps, finished seventh of 22 in the long jump with a 6.95m jump, while senior Denzel Livingston (Billerica, Mass.) finished close behind him in 10th, jumping 6.83m.
Up Next
The indoor season has ended for the Warriors, but for Muscaro, Braga and the women's 4x400m relay team, their indoor season will conclude at the NCAA Indoor Championships on March 11-12 in Pittsburg, Kansas. The rest of the team will hit the track next on March 26, when the outdoor season begins at the Bridgewater State Bears Invitational.
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