University of Massachusets Athletics
University of Massachusetts
UMASS INVITATIONAL
Women Take Second, Men Take Third At UMass Invitational
April 12, 2008 | Men's Track & Field
April 12, 2008
Complete Results |
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AMHERST, Mass. - Under sunny skies, the UMass track and field teams hosted the first home meet of the season on Saturday. Overall, the women placed second while the men placed third out of nine teams. Red-shirted junior Kristen Bakanowski (Northboro, Mass.) had the top performance of the day after placing first in the pole vault competition. With a NCAA qualifying standard height of 12 feet, 7.50 inches, Bakanowski also set a new school record. Bakanowski surpassed the school record of 12 feet, 3.5 inches that Brandy Green set back in 2003. In addition, Bakanowski qualified for the ECAC Championships. For the men, there were four qualifying finishes for the New England Championships.
The Minutewomen had a strong showing throughout the day in multiple events. Sophomore Lisa Wilson (Holden, Mass.) earned first place in the shot put competition. With a throw of 42 feet, 9.50 inches, Wilson now holds the school record for the third best throw. Wilson also took first place in the hammer throw competition with a distance of 150 feet, 9 inches. In the discus throw, Wilson took second place with a throw of 137 feet, 11 inches.
Senior Christina DeRosa (Sound Beach, N.Y.) turned in two strong performances that qualified her for the New England Championships and ECAC Championships in both events. DeRosa took fourth place in the 1500 meter run with a time of 4:41.98. DeRosa also placed first in the 5000 meter run with personal best time of 17:10.35, which is still the fourth fastest time at UMass.
Senior Alisha Tatham (Brampton, Ontario) took first place in both the 100 meter dash and the 200 meter dash. Tatham finished the 100 meter dash in 12.19 seconds and the 200 meter dash in 24.97 seconds. Both times were a new facility record and qualified her for the New England Championships.
Freshman Gina Perno (Plainview, N.Y.) also qualified for the New England Championships with a fifth place finish in the 800 meter run with a time of 2:15.42.
The men also had notable performances on the day. In the 400 meter dash, freshman Michael Perotta (Woodmere, N.Y.) took second place in 49.26 seconds, while sophomore Samuel Laorenza (North Andover, Mass.) finished fourth in 49.46 seconds. Sophomore Tyler Cotto (Holliston, Mass.) placed fourth in the 110 meter hurdles with a time of 14.95 seconds. In the 4x400 meter relay, the team took second place in 3:21.94. All four finished were qualifying times for the New England Championships in their respected events.
The Minutemen dominated the 1500 meter run after taking seven spots in the top ten. Junior Josh Boone (Gardner, Mass.) led the way with a first place finish in 3:56.62 while sophomore Andrew McCann (Fayetteville, N.Y.) was right behind in second place in 3:58.18. Sophomore Nicolai Naranjo (Essex Fells, N.J.), freshman Kris Carle (Jackson, N.J.), and sophomore Ryan Diorio (Bridgewater, N.J.) finished in the middle of the group after placing fourth, fifth, and sixth, respectively. Freshman Sean Duncan (Gardner, Mass.) finished eighth in 4:01.19, while senior Nils Fischer (Stow, Mass.) placed tenth with a time of 4:02.36.
Overall, Albany took first place for both the men's and women's teams.
Next weekend, both teams will head down to Princeton, New Jersey to take part in the Larry Ellis Invitational.
