Madeline Sattler, News Correspondent
The men’s and women’s track and field teams wrapped up their seasons May 10-12 with 12th- and 13th-place finishes, respectively, at the New England Championship at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
“[The meets] gave the athletes the opportunity to end the season on a better note,” assistant coach Tramaine Shaw said. “It gave everyone that momentum and motivation to really come back and be focused next year.”
The lady Huskies combined for 27 points, with senior jumper Ida Cance earning bronze in the high jump after clearing 1.65 meters, a personal best.
“Ida Cance had a great [personal record],” Shaw said. “To kind of go out with a bang at the last meet of the year is great to do.”
The 4×100-meter relay team, comprised of freshmen Jessica Dunnigan and Victoria Alexander, sophomore Ashlee Pitts, and senior Sarah Trotman, also placed third. The four sprinters combined for a 47.84-second finish.
Both the 4×400-meter and 4×800-meter relay teams placed seventh. The former finished in 3:55.13 while the latter crossed the line in 9:21.03.
“As far as the women’s 4×800, it was really nice for them to be able to have a strong relay and go out on top,” Shaw said.
Senior distance runner Annie Scully also earned points for the Huskies with her seventh-place finish in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 11:17.93. Senior Ashley Furlong participated in the heptathlon and acquired 3,804 points and to earn seventh overall.
Alexander and Dunnigan rounded out the scoring for the Northeastern women. Alexander placed seventh in the 100-meter dash with a time of 12.15 seconds while Dunnigan leaped 5.23 meters to land fourth in the long jump.
“They have an incredible work ethic,” Shaw said of Alexander and Dunnigan.
The men’s track and field team finished with 22 points on the weekend. Freshman Jared Lane had the highest individual finish, placing third in the 110-meter hurdles in 14.16 seconds, a personal best.
Lane was also a member of the 4×100-meter relay team that finished in second place at 41.72 seconds. Lane combined with sophomores Alex Shapiro and Jackson MacDonald, and senior Daruis Velez. The other men’s relay, the 4×800, finished fifth overall.
“[The relays] gave some of the underclassmen a chance to step up,” Shaw said.
Freshman distance runner Stephan Sollowin ran the 5,000-meter run in 14:46.06, placing him sixth. Junior jumper Stefano Combi cleared 6.71 meters in the long jump to earn eighth.
The Huskies also had five men participating in the Intercollegiate Association of Amateur Athletes of America (IC4A) championships and four women competing in the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) championships during the weekend at Princeton University.
The women did not earn any points, but they had some strong performances from their participants, Shaw said. Senior sprinter Seleena Abdur-Rashed placed ninth in the 110-meter hurdles, posting a season-best 14.04 seconds, just two one-hundredths off of earning points.
Jumpers Georgia Pingue, a sophomore, and senior Nia Howard finished 13th and 17th in the their respective events. Pingue put together a 12.04 meter combination in the triple jump while Howard leaped 5.34 meters in the long jump.
Junior thrower Rachel Taback placed 23rd in the discus throw with a 42.82 meter throw. The Connecticut native also tossed the hammer 49.12 meters to place 19th overall.
“The throw events happen to be the some of the … events that Northeastern is [best] known for,” Shaw said.
The men earned eight points as a team. Sophomore thrower Max Milder threw for a season-best in the hammer throw, 61.73 meters, and finished fourth. Classmate James Hall placed 18th in the same event with a 52.45-meter toss.
Senior jumper Andrew Staples placed sixth in the long jump with a season-high 7.37 meter leap. Sophomore thrower Chris Reider launched the javelin 58.84 meters to earn 12th overall.
Senior thrower Patrick Jablonski finished 17th in the discus throw with a 48.38 meter toss. The veteran also competed in the shot put and finished 20th overall, clearing 15.55 meters.
Jablonski’s season is not over however. He and Milder will head to the University of North Florida on May 24 to compete in the NCAA Regional Championships. This is Jablonski’s second year qualifying in the discus event, while Milder will compete in the hammer throw in his first trip to regionals.
“We are extremely proud of [Jablonski and Milder] especially with Pat being a senior,” Shaw said. “We hope they make it to the next round and hopefully become All-Americans.”
All in all, the track teams ended what has been a competitive and successful season, Shaw said.
“We have some incredible young athletes who PR-ed this year and they are only going to continue to do better,” Shaw said.
