Second Home Meet Saturday for Women's Track

Meet Two	Minuteman Invitational
Date \| Time	Saturday, Apr. 15, 2017 \| 10:30 a.m.
Location	Amherst, Mass. (UMass Track and Field Complex)
Teams Competing	UMass, Colgate, Holy Cross, Quinnipiac, Amherst, American International, Stonehill
Results	Available following the meet on UMassAthletics.com

Saturday's Competition
-Saturday, Apr. 15, 2017 marks the Minuteman Invitational, the Minutewomen's second home meet of the season. The day of events will be hosted at the UMass Track and Field Complex. Competition is set to kick off at 10:30 a.m. with field events and the 10,000m run. Results are available following the meet at UMassAthletics.com.

Last Time Out
-The Minutewomen opened their 2017 outdoor track campaign with a home quad-meet against Vermont and Boston College last Friday. UMass collected a win with 207 points while Rhode Island was second (174 points) followed by Vermont (140 points) and Boston College (135 points).
- Heather MacLean was the top finisher in 1,500 meter run with a time of 4:37.12, a New England qualifier as well as 7.26 seconds ahead of second place. MacLean also celebrated a win in the 800 meter run with a time of 2:12.72.
- Sophomore Emilie Cowan ran 54.31 seconds to first in the 400 meter dash. The time was less than half a second behind the facility record of 53.84 seconds. Cowan also collected a victory in 200 meter dash with a time of 25.01 seconds.
- UMass went 1-2-3 in shot put. Redshirt senior Kelsey Crawford captured first with a 46-foot, 0.5-inch throw followed by Margaret Riseborough in second and Sara Wagner in third.
- Junior Colleen Sands ran 11 minutes, 6.42 seconds to claim the top spot in 3,000 meter steeplechase.

Returning Depth
- The Minutewomen return nine individuals to the 2016-17 roster who scored in events at the 2016 Atlantic 10 Outdoor Championships including sophomore Emilie Cowan who concluded her 2016 outdoor campaign at the USATF Junior National Championships in Clovis, California.
- These returnees include 2016 medalists Emilie Cowan (200m, 500m), Gabrielle Bennett (60m hurdle), Kelsey Crawford (shot put, javelin), Bridget Deveau (javelin) and Colleen Sands (3,000m steeplechase).

Cowan Looks to Build Off Successful Rookie Year
- In 2016, her first collegiate outdoor track season, Emilie Cowan made her way to the UMass record book with a top time in 400m and a fourth all-time performance in the 800m.
- At the outdoor Atlantic 10 Championships, Cowan earned the title of Atlantic 10 Champion in 500 meter dash, finishing with a time of 1:12.95. Cowan returned to the track to earn a second title in 200 meter dash, winning the event with a time of 25.02 seconds
- At the NCAA Preliminary Championships, Cowan ran under 54 seconds in the 400m for the second time in her career and is the only Minutewoman in program history to do so. The Maplewood, N.J., native crossed the finish line in 53.96 seconds, good for 36th in the field of 48 as the time was just shy of breaking her own school record of 53.92
- The Maplewood, New Jersey, native concluded her 2016 outdoor track campaign at the USATF Junior National Championships in Clovis, California where she competed in the 400m. Cowan finished 12th in the prelims with a time of 54.36, narrowly missing an advance to the final.

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.
- New additions to the UMass roster debut for outdoor track: 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) and 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
- The Minutewomen will host four meets at the UMass Track & Field Complex during the 2017 outdoor season, including the Atlantic 10 Championships on May 6-7. The Minutewomen will leave the Bay State just once prior to the Championships portion of their schedule, heading to the Larry Ellis Invitational in Princeton, New Jersey on April 21-22. This year's NCAA East Regional Championships will be held in Lexington, Kentucky.

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 2017.
- 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

Gabrielle Bennett

Kayla Blair

Taylor Blow

Emilie Cowan

Kelsey Crawford

Bridget Deveau

Kate Dorsey

Sarah Endyke

Jada Harris

Sophia Holman

Heather MacLean

Moriah Newcomb

Margaret Riseborough

Colleen Sands

Samantha Thompson

Sara Wagner

Julia Weithofer

Lindsay Witt

Scoreboard

University of Massachusets Athletics