The New Hampshire women’s track and field team swept three teams and the men swept five teams as the Wildcats took both titles at the Paul Sweet Oval in Durham, N.H. Lauren Knight (Centerville, Mass./Centerville) led the way for the New Hampshire women, finishing first in pentathlon with a school record of 3,286 points, while five other Wildcat women also grabbed first place finishes. Craig Lange (Manchester, N.H./Manchester Central) finished first in the 400-meter (50.45) and second in the 55-meter dash (6.75), leading the UNH men who grabbed four first-place finishes and nine second-place finishes in the meet.
Northeastern also competed at the Paul Sweet Oval, with the men finishing fifth and the women finishing fourth. Matt Valuk (Nashua, N.H./Nashua) grabbed first place in the men’s 200 (23.58), while Wittly Jourdan (Malden, Mass./Somerville/New Hampshire) finished second in the women’s pentathlon (3170).
Both Binghamton and Albany competed at the Cornell University Challenge. Paul Roche (Niskayuna, N.Y./Niskayuna) captured first in the heptathlon (4727) and set a new school record to help lead the Albany men’s squad to a second-place finish. The Great Dane women finished fourth overall, receiving first-place finishes from Patricia Diedrich (Waverly, N.Y./Waverly) in the pentathlon and 60 high hurdles (9.00). The Great Danes also captured first place in both 4x800 relays as the men finished with a time of 7:54.43 and the women came across in 9:33.61.
The Bearcats received strong performances from Rory Quiller (West Point, N.Y./James I. O'Neill) as he leapt 15’ 9” and captured first in the pole vault and junior Nick Tillman (Binghamton, N.Y./Susquehanna Valley) who set a new school record in the high jump (6’ 9”). Kathryn Murnane (Rockville Center, N.Y./Oceanside) claimed the only first place finish for the Binghamton women, as she won the 3000 (10:22).
The Boston University women competed in a quad meet with Boston College, University of Massachusetts-Amherst and Sacred Heart. The Terriers, who finished third overall, received first place finishes from Abbey Sadowski (Voluntown, Conn./Voluntown) in the 1000 (2:53.53), Jessica Iannacci (Lunenburg, Mass./Lunenburg) in the 3000 (10:01.53), Erin Cadden (Allentown, Pa./Allentown) in the 55 hurdles (8.56) and MaryEllen Bingham (Boston, Mass./Latin) won the triple jump (37’ 10.75”).
The Maine women’s team finished fourth and the men’s team finished fifth out of seven-teams at a meet hosted at the University of Rhode Island. Hana Pelletier (Belgrade, Maine/Messalanskee) picked up the Black Bears’ lone first place finish, completing the 800 in a time of 2:15.24.
At the Dartmouth Invitational, the Vermont women’s track and field team had strong performances from Michelle Palmer (Plymouth, Mass./Plymouth South), who won the 3000 (10:36.69) and Kristal Kostiew (Northwood, N.H./Coe-Brown), who won the shot put (14.8 meters) and weight throw (18.49 meters). Erin O’Grady (Raymond, N.H./Raymond) also nabbed a first place finish in the 200 (27.10) and placed second in the 60 (8.09).