Lodge wins 5k as Bulldogs open outdoor season at Shamrock Invitational
SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Sophomore Melissa Lodge (Hopkinton, Mass.) claimed the individual title in the 5k to highlight a strong performance from the Bryant University Track and Field team at the Alan Connie Shamrock Invitational hosted by Coastal Carolina University in Myrtle Beach, S.C.
The invitational featured 16 female teams and 15 male teams. South Carolina won on both sides with 36 and 32 points, respectively.
"I'm very happy with how the program competed this past weekend," head coach Mitch Switzer said. "We came down to South Carolina with the intention of getting a solid warm weather training week in to start our outdoor season and we worked the team extremely hard this week. So, to see the team compete so well through fatigue is an indication of great things to come."
"We don't get an opportunity as a team like this often, so it was exciting to see some of our athletes go out and compete with some of the top teams in the nation."
Lodge's victory highlighted the weekend for the Black and Gold. In her first outdoor meet with the Bulldogs, Lodge won the 5k with a time of 17:27.37. She also qualified for the New England Championships with her performance.
Bryant also set one program record on the weekend as the 4x200 relay team of Nicole Dempsey (Norwell, Mass.), MiaLynne Park (Jewett City, Conn.), Melissa Hurwitz (Newton, Mass.) and Kristen Hayes (Menands, N.Y.) shattered the previous school mark. They finished with a time of 1:44.20, nearly five seconds faster than the previous time set way back in 2007. It is only the second time in program history that a 4x200 relay team has posted a sub-1:50.00 time.
In addition to Lodge's New England qualifying time, Dempsey and Deion Raper (Brockton, Mass.) also posted qualifying times. Dempsey posted a time of 12.52 in the 100m while Raper posted a time of 15.22 in the 110m hurdles.
Other Top Performers
Russell Stevens (Colchester, Conn.) finished third in the 10k with a time of 32:46.48.
Adam Malone (Speonk, N.Y.) finished third in the long jump with a jump of 6.26m and 11th in the triple jump with a distance of 13.65m.
Emily McNeil (Shelton, Conn.) finished sixth in the 800 (2:22.14) and 15th in the mile (5:16.58).
Brendan Smyth (Braintree, Mass.) finished eighth in the long jump with a distance of 5.98m.
Dempsey also added a 12th-place finish in the long jump (5.00m).
Kelsey Charette (Somers, Conn.) finished 15th in the javelin throw with a distance of 35.02m.
Alec Binette (Glastonbury, Conn.) finished 12th in the 200 with a time of 23.70.
Peter Thorp (Ormond Beach, Fla.) joined Binette in the 200, finishing 13th with a time of 23.74.
Milan Duka (Belgrade, Serbia) finished 13th in the 800 with a time of 1:56.07.
Bryant's 4x800 relay team of Justin Patterson (Marshfield, Mass.), Brian Salit (Seekonk, Mass.), Duka and Richard Landry (Holyoke, Mass.) combined to finish seventh (7:59.42).