Lisa Wilson Dominates Throwing Competition at Larry Ellis Invitational

April 20, 2008

PRINCETON, N.J. - This past weekend, the UMass track and field teams traveled to Princeton University to take part in the Larry Ellis Invitational. Sophomore Lisa Wilson (Holden, Mass.) was the star of the weekend after dominating the throwing competition and recording the second-best throw in school history in three different events. Wilson began by taking third place in the hammer throw competition with a distance of 168 feet, 11 inches. Her throw also qualified her for the New England Championships and the ECAC Championships. Wilson followed by taking second place in the discus throw with a distance of 152 feet. Finally, Wilson took third in the shot put competition with a throw of 43 feet, 10.75 inches. Wilson previously held the third-best throw in the shot put and discus throw.

Senior Christina DeRosa (Sound Beach, N.Y.) also had a strong performance at the Invitational. DeRosa placed second in the 5K run with a NCAA provisional qualifying time of 16:41.49. DeRosa improved on her time from last week and now holds the second fastest time at UMass. In addition, DeRosa also qualified for the New England Championships and the ECAC Championships.

Senior Alisha Tatham (Brampton, Ontario) took sixth pace in the 200 meter dash with a time of 24.82 seconds. Tatham's time not only qualified her for the ECAC Championships, but is also the fifth fastest time at UMass.

During the weekend, there were multiple athletes who qualified for the post season. The relay team of red-shirted junior Kristen Bakanowski (Northboro, Mass.), sophomore Ros Murphy (Beverly, Mass.), sophomore Holly Heinricher (Foxboro, Mass.) and Alisha Tatham placed second in the 4x100 meter relay. Their time of 47.49 seconds qualified them for the ECAC Championships. Sophomore Andrew McCann (Fayetteville, N.Y.) had the best performance of the day for the men after taking third place in the 5K run. McCann's time of 14:21.40 qualified him for both the New England Championships and the IC4A Championships.

Eight other athletes and one relay team also qualified for the New England Championships. Senior Ryan Durkin (Andover, Mass.) placed 27th in the 800 meter run with a time of 1:54.07. Junior Josh Boone (Hampden, Mass.) placed 29th in the 1500 meter run to finish in 3:52.31. Freshman Sean Duncan (Gardner, Mass.) finished 21st in the 3000 meter steeplechase with a time of 9:28.76. Red-shirted freshman Shiyi Zan (Ottawa, Ontario) placed 12th in the 5K with a time of 17:25.74. Sophomore Brittany Bakanowski (Northboro, Mass.) finished 10th in the 400 meter hurdles in 1:04.78. In the 5K run, sophomore Jonathan Pierce (Hanover, Mass.) finished 14th with a time of 14:42.37. Sophomore Nicolai Naranjo (Essex Fells, N.J.) placed 20th in 14:46.70, while senior Nils Fischer (Stow, Mass.) placed 23rd in 14:47.93. Finally, the relay team of senior Nathan Barksdale (Valparaiso, Indiana), sophomore Ian Hackney (Stratford, Conn.), sophomore Brian Miller (Foxboro, Mass.) and sophomore Samuel Laorenza (North Andover, Mass.) placed eighth in the 4x100 meter relay with a time of 42.93 seconds.

Day one of the Larry Ellis Invitational had some top ten finishes in field events for the men and women. In the discus throw, freshman Kevin Spieler (Attleboro, Mass.) placed eight with a throw of 140 feet, 10 inches. In the pole vault competition, Kristen Bakanowski took second placed with a height of 11 feet, 11.75 inches. Sophomore Molly Chapin (Northfield, Mass.) took sixth place, while freshman Jenelle Denehy (Whately, Mass.) took seventh place with both recording a height of 10 feet, 6 inches.

The second day of the Invitational had multiple top 20 performances throughout the day. Alisha Tatham took fourth place in the 100 meter dash in 12.16 seconds, while Ros Murphy placed 18th in 13.14 seconds. In the 200 meter dash, Holly Heinricher placed 18th with a time of 25.49 seconds. Sophomore Alexandra Haller (Marblehead, Mass.) placed 19th in the 400 meter hurdles with a time of 1:07.66. Freshman Gina Perno (Plainivew, N.Y.) placed 14th int eh 400 meter dash in 59.82 seconds. For the men, freshman Michael Perrotta (Woodmere, N.Y.) placed 16th in the 400 meter dash in 49.67 seconds.

In the 800 meter run, senior Jennifer Curtain (Medford, N.Y.) placed 18th with a time of 2:22.86, while sophomore Nicole Serapiglia (Northboro, Mass.) was right behind in 19th place in 2:23.26. In the 1500 meter run, freshman Elizabeth Fisk (Seekonk, Mass.) placed sixth with a time of 4:50.90, while freshman Lauren Stocker (Westfield, Mass.) placed ninth in 4:54.61.

In the 4x400 meter relay, Nathan Barksdale, senior James Bentley (Cotuit, Mass.), freshman Matthew Gulino (Attleboro, Mass.) and Michael Perrotta placed 11th with a time of 3:25.77. For the women, the team of Kristen Bakanowski, Brittany Bakanowski, Gina Perno, and Alisha Tatham took second place in the 4x400 meter relay in 3:52.51.

Next weekend, both teams will travel to the University of New Hampshire to compete in the UNH Pre-Conference Meet. Both teams will look to prepare for the Atlantic 10 Outdoor Championships, which will be hosted by UMass on May 3-4.

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