University of Massachusets Athletics
UMass Women's Track Travels To Big Apple
January 22, 2009 | Women's Track & Field
Jan. 22, 2009
New York, N.Y. - The UMass women's track and field team travels to New York, N.Y. for the Great Dane Classic at The Armory Track & Field Center this Friday. The Minutewomen are coming off a mid-week meet at BU last Wednesday, where they dropped head to head match ups against Boston University, Boston College, and Sacred Heart. This is the first time the Minutewomen have competed in the Great Dane Classic as they face off against 40 other teams from around the country. The meet kicks off at 1:00 PM and is hosted by the University of Albany and The Armory.
This season, the Minutewomen will look for strong performances from an array of athletes. Redshirt senior Kristen Bakanowski (Northboro, Mass.) will be one such athlete, as she qualified for the ECAC Championships with a vault of 12-03.25 last week. Last season, Bakanowski set a new school record with a mark of 12-feet, 11.75 inches during the indoor season. Bakanowski will look to improve on her score in N.Y. in preparation for the championship season.
Two more key components for the Minutewomen this season will be junior Lisa Wilson (Holden, Mass.) and redshirt sophomore Shiyi Zan (Ottawa, Ontario). Wilson dominated the shot put with a first place finish at BU, recording a throw of 42-04.25. Zan also finished first with a time of 10:11.29 in the 3000 meter.
With one meet under her belt, look for sophomore Ida Okkonen (Kuopio, Finland) to have a breakout week. At the BU Multi-Team Meet, Okkonen long jumped 17-06.00 to take second place overall.
Newcomers Sarah Kelley (Woburn, Mass.) and Deanna Julian (Dudley, Mass.) will look to continue to make an impact for the Minutewomen. At BU, the pair took first in their respective events. Kelley ran the 400 meter with a time of 1:00.49 for the best mark on the team and first place in her section. Julian also finished first in the 500 meter run with a time of 1:20.12.
Check back Friday night for a recap of the meet and complete results.
