Bulldogs set four school records at Bates Invitational and Multi over weekend
SMITHFIELD, R.I. – The Bryant University men's and women's indoor track and field teams broke four program records and sent one to the Eastern College Athletic Conference Championships with this past weekend's performance at the Bates Invitational and Multi held Jan. 20 and 21 in a head-to-head loss to the University of Maine.
The women fell to the Bears, 111-65, and the men lost, 120-60, in the dual meet that was held on the campus of Bates College.
Just a week removed from breaking the school record in the weight throw, senior Jonee Harrison (Dorchester, Mass.) added to her mark with an enormous throw of 16.45 meters, nearly a full half meter more than her record throw the weekend prior. In doing so she qualifies for the ECAC's, becoming the first female thrower in school history to earn a spot.
As a whole, the women had yet another strong performance for a second-straight meet. Freshman Emily Cluck (Johnson City, N.Y.) continued to impress, winning the 60m dash with a time of 7.96, just 0.14 off the school record. Classmate Olivia Weiss (Newton, N.J.) finished second in the 1000m run with a time of 3:06.86, the fifth-best in program history.
Three additional school records were surpassed by the women. Junior Melissa Lodge (Hopkinton, Mass.) set the program mark in the 800m with a time of 2:17.39, as it was a record that had been held since 2012. Lodge earned herself a spot in the New England
Freshman Jacklyn Sullivan (Plymouth, Mass.) led a dominant 600m for the Bulldogs with a new school record of 1:40.11 – over four seconds faster than the previous mark set in 2011. In that same event, junior Sarah Lapham (Greenwich, N.Y.) finished second with the third-best time in program history at 1:45.37 and senior Emily McNeil (Shelton, Conn.) placed third with the school's fourth-best time at 1:46.56.
The quartet of Lodge, Sullivan, Lapham and Weiss won the women's 4 x 800m relay with a time of 9:42.06, and in doing so set the program record, besting the previous mark that was set in 2010 by more than six seconds.
The Bulldogs went 2-3-4 in the women's shot put, led by Harrison with the school's third-best throw of 11.74 meters. Sophomore Victoria Whitham (Newton, Mass.) set the seventh-best distance in school history at 10.12 meters. In the 60m hurdles, classmate and town mate Melissa Hurwitz (Newton, Mass.) finished second with the program's second-best time of 9.46.
The men's 4 x 800m relay team nearly set a school record as well with the second-best time. Senior Richard Landry (Holyoke, Mass.) and Milan Duka (Belgrade, Serbia), junior Ryan Poholek (Attleboro, Mass.) and freshman Christopher Wrenn (Norton, Mass.) combined to run an 8:05.22.
Wrenn and Landry had strong runs in the men's 600m with times of 1:24.71 and 1:25.03 for the second and third-best times in school history, respectively. Sophomore Evan Smith (Chester, Conn.) finished second in the 60m dash with a time of 7.24, the seventh-fastest in program history, and sophomore Alec Binette (Glastonbury, Conn.) and junior Justin Patterson (Marshfield, Mass.) finished first and second, respectively, in the 400m dash.
The Bulldogs return to the track at the Terrier Invitational on the campus of Boston University being held Friday Jan. 27 and Saturday Jan. 28.