Massachusetts redshirt senior Kristen Bakanowski knows what it means to win the hard way after scrapping her way to a first-place finish in the pole vault competition at this weekend’s track and field ECAC Indoor Championships in Boston on March 8 and 9.

She started off missing the first two jumps before clearing the bar at 3.55 meters. During the second round, she continued to struggle, missing the first two jumps.

“Kristen had to calm down,” UMass women’s coach Julie LaFreniere said.

At the 3.85-meter mark, Bakanowski was one of five pole vaulters to clear, leading her to a first-place finish, clearing 3.95 meters.

“I was ecstatic. It was the highest she’s ever jumped in her life,” LaFreniere said.

In the 5,000-meter race, senior Christina DeRosa accomplished a career best, (16 minutes, 41.71 seconds) taking fifth place. The race came down to the top five runners, but DeRosa could not separate herself from the top four.

“They had a better kick at the end of the race than Christina did,” LaFreneire said.

DeRosa’s time was almost a minute better than last year’s ECAC Championships where she finished 23rd.

The 1,000-meter run did not yield the results the Minutewomen hoped for as Gina Perno (2:58.81) placed 20th.

DeRosa and Bakanowski qualified for the NCAA Championships that will take place on March 14-15 in Fayetteville, Ark.

Nobody qualified for the NCAA championships on the men’s side with disappointing performances across the board. Freshman Tyler Cotto (7.74 seconds) placed 19th in the 55-meter hurdles.

Junior Josh Boone took 19th place in the 1,000-meter run preliminaries. The Minutemen’s top performance came from sophomore Nicolai Naranjo (15:8.17), who placed 18th in the 5000-meter run. Junior Jesse Regnier (15:20.02) trailed behind, taking 20th.

In the 4×800-meter relay, sophomore Ryan DiOrio, freshman Scott Vander Molen, senior Ryan Durkin and junior Peter Fortunato placed 19th with a time of 7:49.46 while senior Matthew Klypka, sophomores Sam Laorenza and Jonathan Pierce and freshman Brian Tino took 20th (10:19.87).

“It was a really disappointing performance overall,” UMass men’s coach Ken O’Brien said. “It is the end of the season and the kids are a little bit beat.”

In the third week of championship meets, O’Brien believes the Minutemen ran out of gas but expects to have a refreshed team ready for the beginning of the outdoor season.

Both teams start the outdoor season March 29 at the UMass Five-Way Meet.

Adam Miller can be reached at [email protected].