4x400 Meter Relay Squad Leads Minutewomen At New England Championships

Feb. 26, 2012

BOSTON, MASS. - Day two of the New England Championships was a group effort towards the team's success. There were seven top ten performances by the Minutewomen at Boston University and it was the 4x400 meter relay team that stood out and made its way into the UMass record book. The squad consisted of Sarah Bitterman (Marblehead, Mass.), Meghan Leahy (Sterling, Mass.), Michelle Jenssen (Mansfield, Mass.) and Meghan Landry (Marshfield, Mass.) who all contributed to a third place finish in the event with a time of 3:52.74. The time beats the fifth all-time best record of 3:52.79 in the event which was set in 1985.

Sarah Bitterman not only contributed to the 4x400 meter relay performance but also had a solid showing of her own in the 500 meter dash. The sophomore finished third overall in the event, crossing the finish line at 1:16.21, just milliseconds shy of qualifying for the ECAC and her indoor personal best of 1:16.19 which was set back in last year's New England Championships.

Juniors, Nalis Mbianda (Newton, Mass.) and Rachelle Bourque (Rowley Mass.) combined for a pair of top 10 finishes in the shot. Mbianda placed sixth overall, throwing a mark of 42-09.50 while Bourque placed 10th with a distance of 41-04.50.

Deanna Julian (Dudley, Mass.) and Katie Powers (Holbrook, Mass.) both finished top 10 in the 1000 meter run after qualifying for the finals on Friday. Julian placed ninth, crossing the finish line at 2:58.87 while Powers finished right behind the senior with a time of 3:02.40.

In the triple jump, Rebecca Stoyle (Pembroke, Mass.) took seventh overall jumping for a mark of 37-09.25.

Scoreboard