Women's Track in Action at Valentine Invitational Friday

University of Massachusetts Women's Track and Field Notes
Meet Six	David Hemery Valentine Invitational
Date \| Time	Friday, Feb. 10, 2017 – 12:00 p.m.
Location	Boston University Track & Tennis Center, Boston, Mass.
Teams Competing	Georgetown, Fordham, Ottawa, Penn, Dartmouth, Villanova, Albany, Boston College, Columbia, Stony Brook, NYU, Central Connecticut, Tufts, New Haven, Providence, Holy Cross, Quinnipiac, John Hopkins, among others.
Results	Available following the meet on UMassAthletics.com

Saturday' Meet
- Members of the UMass women's track and field squadd will head to Boston on Friday for the David Hemery Valentine Invitational at the Boston University Track & Tennis Center. Gabrielle Bennett, Mariah Collins, Emilie Cowan, Kelsey Crawford, Diamante Spencer, Sara Wagner, Olivia Weir, Julia Witt and Lindsay Witt are set to compete as the remainder of the team rests up in preparation for next week's Atlantic 10 Championships.
- Last year's competition saw UMass records fall as the 4x400 meter relay team bested a mark set in 1986 with a combined time of 3:48.62 while Heather MacLean improved upon her program record in the mile.

Last Time Out
-UMass bested 14 teams with 125.5 points to take the win Saturday at the URI Coaches Invitational. The UMass 200 meter record fell once again as sophomore Emilie Cowan ran 24.80 seconds to first place. Cowan picked up another first place finish in the 500 meter run with a time of 1:14.34. She was selected as the UMass female Student-Athlete of the Week on the back of those performances.
- Junior Colleen Sands celebrated a victory in the 3,000 meter run as the Princeton, Massachusetts native ran 10:12.03, a New England qualifier.
- In shot put, senior Kelsey Crawford took home the gold with a New England and ECAC-qualifying mark of 46 feet, 6 inches. Freshman Samantha Thompson earned first place with a 5-foot, 5-inch leap in high jump.

Cowan Honored
- Maplewood, New Jersey native Emilie Cowan was selected as the Atlantic 10 Track and Field Women's Co-Performer of the Week following her performance at the Dartmouth Relays.
- Cowan won the 400m at the Dartmouth Relays, qualifying for the New England and ECAC Championships with a time of 55.86 seconds. She also teamed with Diamante Spencer, Lindsay Witt and Elizabeth Gulino to take the top spot in the 4x200m relay, combining for a time of 1:43.36, and anchored the Minutewomen's 4x400m relay squad that took third in 4 minutes, 43.36 seconds, joined by Witt, Mary Lavery and Olivia Weir.

Returning Depth
- The Minutewomen return 15 individuals to the 2016-17 roster who scored in events at the 2016 Atlantic 10 Indoor Championships where UMass claimed its third indoor A-10 title.
- These returnees include 2016 medalists Melissa Beaupre (4x400 bronze), Gabrielle Bennett (60H bronze), Emlile Cowan (4x400 bronze), Kelsey Crawford (shot put silver), Bridget Deveau (pentathlon silver), Elizabeth Gulino (DMR gold, 4x400 bronze), Mary Lavery (4x800 bronze), Heather MacLean (DMR gold, 4x400 bronze) and Sofia Pitouli (DMR gold, 4x800 bronze) and Olivia Weir (4x800 bronze).

Cowan Looks to Build Off Successful Rookie Year
- In 2016, her first collegiate indoor track season, Emilie Cowan re-wrote the UMass record book, setting all-time program marks in the 200m, 400m, 500m, three of the top-five all-time marks in the 4x400m relay and the second-fastest time in school history in the 800m.
- At the indoor Atlantic 10 Championships, Cowan earned the nod as the women's Most Outstanding Rookie Performer for her two gold medals and one bronze, taking home the 200m title and also winning the 500m, setting an Atlantic 10 record with a 1:12.95 seconds. Cowan ran the anchor leg of the bronze medal-winning 4x400m relay that sealed the team title for the Minutewomen, running 3:52.14, in the final event of the meet.
- Cowan capped off her freshman campaign by reaching the NCAA East Preliminary Championships with her season-best 400m time of 53.92, clocked at the New England Outdoor Championships. The mark earned her a silver medal at New England's, breaking her own school record in the event.
- The Maplewood, New Jersey, native also helped the Minutewomen post their fifth-straight 4x800m outdoor title at New England's outdoors in 2016 and collected a silver in the 400m at the Atlantic 10 Outdoor Championships.

Welcome Aboard
- UMass has added a talented freshman class to the roster for the 2017 season. The group features six individuals who will compete in jumps for the Minutewomen, three sprinters, two distance and one middle distance runner, one hurdler and one multi-event athlete.
- The following are the new additions to the roster for UMass: Ashley Arroyo (Jumps – Kingston, Mass./Silver Lake Regional HS), Kayla Blair (Mid Distance – Swanzey, N.H./Monadnock HS), Taylor Blow (XC/Distance – Westhampton, Mass./Hampshire Regional HS), Kate Dorsey - (Distance - Glen Ellyn, Ill./Glenbard West HS), Sarah Endyke (Sprints/Jumps - Hingham, Mass./Hingham HS), Jada Harris (Hurdles/Jumps - Trumbull, Conn./Saint Joseph HS), Sophia Holman (Multi - Lunenburg, Mass./Luneneburg HS), Moriah Newcomb (Sprints/Jumps - Brewer, Maine/ Brewer HS), Samantha Thompson (Jumps - Weston Mass./Weston HS), Lindsay Witt (Jumps/Sprints - Princeton Mass./Wachusett Regional HS)
- Senior Julia Weithofer has joined the track and field program, as well, following the completion of her women's soccer career at UMass where she was a four-year starter for the Minutewomen as a midfielder/defender.

Schedule Overview
- UMass' indoor schedule features nine meets, including six in the greater Boston Area.
- The Minutewomen will only leave the Bay State three times during the indoor campaign: this Sunday's trip to the Dartmouth Relays, URI Coaches Invitational on Feb. 4 and the Atlantic 10 Championships at George Mason in Fairfax, Va.

LaFreniere at the Helm
- UMass Head Coach Julie LaFreniere is in her 30th year as head coach of the women's cross country and track and field programs in 2016-17.
- LaFreniere, a 1977 UMass graduate, has led the Minutewomen to 12 Atlantic 10 Championships (7 Cross Country, 3 Indoor Track, 2 Outdoor Track) during her tenure and is a 12-time Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year.

Scoreboard

Players Mentioned

Ashley Arroyo

Melissa Beaupre

Gabrielle Bennett

Kayla Blair

Taylor Blow

Mariah Collins

Emilie Cowan

Kelsey Crawford

Bridget Deveau

Kate Dorsey

Sarah Endyke

Elizabeth Gulino

Jada Harris

Sophia Holman

Mary Lavery

Heather MacLean

Moriah Newcomb

Sofia Pitouli

Colleen Sands

Diamante Spencer

Samantha Thompson

Sara Wagner

Olivia Weir

Julia Weithofer

Julia Witt

Lindsay Witt

Scoreboard

University of Massachusets Athletics