Women's T&F Wins NEC Outdoor Title

Saturday, May 4

New Britian, Conn.

TBA

Sacred Heart

Northeast Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships

Photo by: Steve McLaughlin

5/5/2024 10:51:00 PM | Women's Track and Field

Pios claim sixth conference championship in program history

By: Cameron McClarren

NEW BRITAIN, Conn. — For the first time since 2018, the Sacred Heart University women's track and field team staked its claim as the top women's program in the Northeast Conference (NEC), earning first place at the NEC Outdoor Track and Field Championships that concluded on Sunday afternoon. The victory marks the sixth time the Pios have been crowned NEC Champions after winning four-straight championships from 2015-2018.

History often repeats itself and pressure is often a privilege. Those are the modern cliché's that could have been stated heading into the final day of the NEC Outdoor Championships as the Pioneers found themselves in familiar territory: leading a championship after one day of action. This time, however, the Pioneers closed the deal on the final day with an emphatic 88-point blitz en route to a two-day total of 168.5 points, finishing with a sizable lead over second-place Wagner (141.5) and hosts Central Connecticut (130), with the latter having been tabbed the preseason favorite to win the conference.

In similar fashion from NEC Indoor's, the Pios surged into the lead on the first day thanks to outstanding individual efforts in the field including Erin Lavelle's walk-off win in the long jump. Lavelle, who claimed second in the event at NEC Indoor's, snatched the gold medal with a personal-best mark of 5.84m on her final jump to give SHU its first event win of the meet. Sophomore Magdalena Brogioli followed up with grabbing points as well in the event after claiming seventh.

The Red & White also grabbed the gold in the high jump as Brogioli claimed her second high jump win of the season, clearing 1.67 meters while reigning rookie of the week, Lauryn Piccirelli earned a personal-best clearance of 1.67m on her final attempt to grab silver. Continuing in the field, the day one surprises ensued on the track and in throws as first year thrower Ariyana Jackson earned a valuable eight points and the silver medal with a personal-best mark of 13.22m on her final throw while SHU grabbed second and third in the 10000m with Angela Kaiser and Grace Sousa grabbing silver and bronze to push the Pioneers ahead early on day one.

SHU concluded the finals portions of day one with more points secured on the track, including a whopping 22.5 points in the pole vault. Junior Jenna Engels grabbed the lone medal for the Pios in the event with a silver-medal clearance of 3.55m as the Pios locked up slots 4-7 to secure a plethora of points. SHU closed day one of the meet with a good showing in the 4x800m relay as the quartet of Grace DelGiorno, Emily Raymond, Carissa Weber and Megan Schneider locked up sixth place to propel SHU to 80.5 points after one day of competition.

Looking to secure their first trophy in six years – and keep history from repeating itself – the Pios locked in on the final day of competition, claiming 88 points across the remaining finals sections to bolster their hopes of a championship.

The Pios started the final day of competition with a strong outing in javelin with Marisa Imme claiming bronze while Madeline Archangelo grabbed fourth to secure seven vital points for SHU. The strong start was replicated in the long jump as Kaylee Stenderowicz grabbed second place with a mark of 11.51m while Lavelle set a personal-best mark of 11.44m to earn bronze. Lavelle was later named the NEC Most Outstanding Field Performer for jumps with her two-medal outing.

On the track, the Pios secured important points in one event they did not have at Indoor's: the steeplechase. Though SHU didn't claim a podium, the Pioneers earned six points as Keegan Pepin, Kelly Parker and Grace Miller grabbed slots 5-7 to keep the title hopes alive. SHU continued its title pace with a silver medal in the 4x100m relay as Jillian Audette led a quartet of herself, Brogioli, Annalise Nassy and Jada Alston to a finish of 47.98 seconds.

Continuing on the track, Archangelo earned the bronze in the 100m hurdles, leading a trio of Pios who scored in the event with a finish of 14.53 seconds Brogioli followed Archangelo in the standings with a fourth-place finish while Jackson scored with a sixth-place finish. DelGiorno also continued her strong season performance with a seventh-place finish in the 1500m to continue adding to the point total for Sacred Heart.

Holding onto its lead late in the afternoon, the Pios continued to bleed points away from its closest competitor, Wagner, earning scoring positions from Alston who claimed a sixth-place finish in the 200m dash after grabbing the silver in the women's 100m dash after having qualified in fourth after prelims to help aid SHU toward clinching the title.

With two events remaining, the Pioneers needed just a handful of points to confidently claim the title. However, Kaiser would take all the guessing out of the equation with an emphatic showing in the women's 5000 meters, grabbing silver with a time of 17:23.59 to clinch the title for SHU. Sousa and DelGiorno also claimed scoring positions for the Pios after finishing in sixth and seventh, respectively.

The Pios, with a title secure in hand, concluded the weekend's festivities with a solid performance in the 4x400m, taking sixth place on a rain-soaked track as the Red & White ran into the evening as NEC Champions.

Up Next:
The Pioneers return to action at the New England Outdoor T&F Championships hosted by the College of the Holy Cross on May 10-11. More information can be found at sacredheartpioneers.com.