The Northeastern men’s and women’s track and field teams continued their strong start to the indoor season at the Battle in Beantown at Boston University Jan. 18, achieving several top ten finishes and breaking both personal and program records.
The Huskies competed against a variety of schools including Boston University, University of Massachusetts Amherst, University of Massachusetts Lowell, Harvard University, and University of Connecticut. Northeastern won five women’s and five men’s events, and placed high on the scoreboard in countless others.
Freshman sprinter Jaice Dorsey kicked off the competition with a first place finish in the 60-meter hurdles preliminary event, and went on to place second overall with a time of 8.74 seconds. In the 60-meter race, sophomore Savannah Blair also earned second overall, blazing across the finish line to set a personal best and program record of 7.42 seconds.
On the men’s team, sophomore sprinter Brunner Williams also clocked a personal best, snagging a first place finish in the 60-meters at 6.81 seconds and putting him at a tie for fifth on the All-Time Performance List. Sophomore Alex Landry followed in the 300m with a personal best with a time of 34.41, putting him in fifth.
In the women’s mile, graduate student distance runners Abigail Hassman, Lena Lebrun, and Azza Borovicka-Swanson all earned top ten finishes, with Hassman leading in fourth place. Hassman has been a force for the track and field team since her freshman year, and she holds all-time records in the 3000-meter, 5 kilometer, 6 kilometer, and both the indoor and outdoor 5000-meter. She also is featured four times on the All-Time Performance List, and received both gold and silver CAA medals in 2023.
Sophomore Johnny Emmanuel crossed the line at 48.41 in the 400-meter to win the event, and junior Ariann Robinson was the runner-up on the women’s side with a time of 56.44.
Graduate student Ava Duggan clocked a personal record in the women’s 800-meter with a time of 2:09.78 minutes, placing her in the top 10 finishers alongside Borovicka-Swanson and sophomore Keira Gamily.
Sophomore Andrew Kenny clinched a fourth-place finish in a neck-and-neck 800-meter race with a time of 1:51.73, an individual record. Freshman Ajay Raina followed less than a second later in fifth. In the men’s 4×400, the A-Team of Kenny, graduate student Daniel Caso, freshman Jacob Redman, and Raina took first place after running a 3:15.36.
As the meet came to a close, Williams concluded a successful day with a victory and program record in the men’s 200-meter, crossing the line at a speedy 21.13. Graduate student distance runner Benjamin Godish also set a new personal best and program record in the men’s 3000-meter, finishing the distance race at 7:51.73 and in third place. He was followed by sophomore Ryan Sarney in 10th, who also ran a personal best.
Multiple records were set in the field events as well, starting with sophomore Mark Etienvre, who tossed a new personal best of 15.10-meter to finish fifth in shot put, while sophomore Ohan Ambartsoumian earned seventh with a 14.64-meter toss. On the women’s side, junior Leila Curtis tossed a 13.16m to claim fifth, and Madeleine DuChaussee followed in seventh.
Sophomore Ian Solberg launched over the bar and finished as the runner-up in the men’s high jump at 1.95 meters. Senior Paul Wisnaskas followed in a tie for fourth, clearing the bar at 1.90 meters. In the pole vault, senior Athanasios Pantazopoulos finished first with a 4.90-meter mark, a personal best that places him in a tie for fifth on the All-Time Performance List.
In the women’s high jump, junior Mia Belanger cleared the bar at 1.65 meters to tie for second, and sophomore Camryn Cole finished right behind her with a 1.60-meter leap.
Finally, in the men’s weight throw, graduate student Nicholas Pisciotta threw an 18.84-meter toss to earn third place, with junior Tremain Robinson following in fourth.
Following a successful day in Beantown, the Huskies took on the River Hawk Invitational, hosted by UMass Lowell at the track at New Balance Jan. 24 to 25. Looking ahead, they are preparing to compete in the John Thomas Terrier Classic at Boston University from Jan. 31 to Feb. 1.
