Track & Field Kicks Off Spring Season at Bridgewater State
Links: Results
BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – Just two weeks after the program's best-ever showing at the NCAA Indoor Championships, the Merrimack College men's and women's track & field teams got the outdoor season started with some quality performances at the Bridgewater State Bears Invitational on Saturday.
The Basics
Event: Bridgewater State Bears Invitatonal
Top Finishers: Women – Mauro (1st – PV) | Men – Spencer (3rd – 110m hurdles)
Location: Bridgewater State University | Bridgewater, Massachusetts
What They Said
Head coach Jacky Mendes, "This was a great way to begin the outdoor season. We had some great performances all around, many personal bests and record board performances. It's wonderful that Ochab and Caren started the school record board in hammer throw. This was a great meet for the Warriors to shine and set the pace for the season."
How It Happened
The top finisher for the Warriors on Saturday came in the form of junior Emily Mauro (Northboro, Mass.), who grabbed the lone first-place finish of the day for Merrimack in the pole vault, topping out at 2.90m. The junior also posted a ninth-place finish in the high jump with a 1.48m jump.
Junior standout Sarah Barnett (Bridgewater, Mass.) got her outdoor season off to a great start in her hometown, posting three top-10 finishes, with two of those coming in the top-five. Barnett finished ninth with a personal-best in the javelin throw at 31.24m. She also finished fourth in the 100m dash with the third-fastest time in school history in the event (12.98). Her best performance would come in the shot put, as the Bridgewater, Massachusetts native nabbed a second-place finish with a school-record throw of 11.09m.
The women found plenty of success in the field events Saturday, as sophomore Lauren MacGregor (Salem, N.H.) finished second in the long jump for Merrimack, jumping 4.67m. Graduate student Emily Caren (Warwick, N.Y.) sparked some life into the throwing events for the women, nabbing the second-best discus throw in school history (24.89m). She also got the school record board started in the hammer throw in impressive fashion, finishing fifth in the event with a 38.09m throw.
Senior captain Adam Ochab (Billerica, Mass.) did the same on the men's side as he would also start writing the hammer throw record book for Merrimack, setting that school record at 23.90m. He also posted a 12th-place finish in the discus throw (32.74m) and 20th in the shot put (10.40m).
Junior John Spencer (North Haven, Conn.) posted the top finish for the men, taking third-place in the 110m hurdles (15.79). Sophomore Connor Murphy (Paxton, Mass.) finished fourth in the 1500m with the third fastest-time in school history in the event (4:10.60).
The men also received some solid performances on the track from a pair of freshmen, as Aidan Friend (Mansfield, Mass.) finished sixth of 53 in the 100m dash with a personal-best time of 11.50. Fellow rookie Tyler Lebel (Saco, Maine) also ran a personal-best time, finish 10th in the 800m run with a time of 2:08.48.
Up Next
The Warriors will head to Tufts on Saturday, April 2 to continue the outdoor season at the Snowflake Classic.
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