The Massachusetts women’s track and field team continued its hot start to the outdoor season, placing third out of 19 teams in the Minutemen Invitational on Saturday.
The Minutewomen finished behind Connecticut and Boston College, racking up 94 points, including eight finishes in the top three. Sophomore Becky Stoyle was one of two competitors for UMass to win in an event, taking first place in the triple jump. Her jump of 40 feet, 9 inches moved her up to second all-time in program history.
Junior Hannah White was the other Minutewoman to come in first in an event, finishing first in the 10,000 meter run with a time of 39 minutes, 47.58 seconds. It was the first time in White’s career that she had won an event.
UMass also had three second-place finishes, including in the long jump, where senior Katherine Finnegan moved up to fourth all-time at UMass with a jump of 18 feet, 11.75 inches. Senior Nalis Mbianda finished in second in the shot put with a throw of 45 feet, 10.5 inches, while Rachelle Bourque, another senior, finished in second place in the javelin with a distance of 125 feet, 11 inches.
For the second meet in a row, UMass’ relay teams proved to be a strength, finishing fourth in both the 4×100-meter relay and 4×400-meter relay.
The Minutewomen look to stay on a roll when they travel to Worcester to compete in the Holy Cross Heptathlon this weekend.
Minutemen finish 5th
Just one week after a dominant performance at the American International College Invitational, the UMass men’s track and field team took fifth place out of 14 teams in the Minutemen Invitational.
In just their second outdoor meet of the season, the Minutemen scored 71 points, with a majority of the points coming from underclassmen.
Freshman Michael Cyphers had the highlight of the day, finishing second in the pole vault with a jump of 15 feet, 3 inches. Coming in third place right behind Cyphers was sophomore Gregory Copeland, who also had a jump of 15 feet, 3 inches.
The pair now has the fourth-best outdoor pole vault in program history. In the other field events, sophomore Brendon Cavallaro scored twice for UMass, with two eighth-place finishes in the shot put and discus events.
Junior Stephen Bigelow had another great meet, accounting for 16 of his team’s 71 points, placing second in two events. In the 110-meter hurdles, he finished second with a time of 14.98 seconds, and was also a part of the 4×100-meter relay team that placed second with 42.59 seconds.
Despite not having the success they had last week, the Minutemen still placed in the top eight 15 times total, including three second-place finishes. The next meet for the men’s team is next scheduled to participate in the two-day Holy Cross Decathalon this weekend.
Jason Kates can be reached at [email protected].
