LANDOVER, Md. – Led by event wins by Kolbi Smith (Valatie, N.Y.), Nicole Bartosch (Yorktown Heights, N.Y.), and Brianna Castrogivanni (Commack, N.Y.), the Sacred Heart women's track and field team wrapped up the first day of the 2014 Northeast Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships in first place.
The Pioneers won two field events on Saturday. Smith won the shot put with a throw of 47'7", with teammate Lindsay Aponte (West Islip, N.Y.) finishing second with a toss of 46'11". Mareena DiMilia (Claryville, N.Y.) placed eighth in the event to give Sacred Heart 19 points in the event, throwing the shot 42'4.25". Bartosch won the long jump with a leap of 17'8", becoming the first freshman to win an event at the 2014 NEC Championship meet. Dylan Baker (Petersham, Mass.) had a jump of 17'0.75" to finish eighth in the long jump. Sacred Heart also earned nine team points in the pole vault. Sara Isaacson (Aberdeen, N.J.) finished fourth after clearing 10'8", as Emily Kiss (Kenvil, N.J.) cleared 9'8" to finish fifth.
On the track Castrogivanni won the 3000m for the second consecutive year, running a time of 9:51.81. Elizabeth Hutchins (Pawcatuck, Conn.) finished third in the 3000m, crossing the finish line in 9:59.04. Emma Bolduc (Peterborough, N.H.) ran fifth in the race, posting a time of 10:01.08. Castrogivanni also ran the second-fastest mile time in the preliminaries with a time of 5:16.59 to qualify for the final. Bolduc ran a 5:19.89 and freshman Jennifer Hahne (Madison, Conn.) ran a 5:21.68 to also qualify for Sunday's mile final. Bridget Carey (St. James, N.Y.) qualified for the 500m dash final with a preliminary time of 1:18.87. Ashia Wright (Cheshire, Conn.) ran a 7.79 in the 60m dash to reach the final of that race. Cynthia Gray (Pine Bush, N.Y.) was one of three runners Saturday to eclipse 2:20 in the 800m, running a time of 2:19.71 to qualify for Sunday's final.
Sacred Heart amassed 59 points on Saturday, taking a 10-point lead over Robert Morris into Sunday. Saint Francis U is in third place with 13 points followed by Mount St. Mary's with 11.50 points.
The NEC Championships conclude on Sunday.
