The Massachusetts men’s and women’s track team each had big days at the John Thomas Terrier Classic in Boston this past Saturday. The women’s squad earned a first-place finish, a new school record and a handful of top-10 finishes. Meanwhile on the men’s side, multiple runners registered personal records in their first meet since last week’s Sorlein Invitational.
Junior Jada Harris and senior Emile Cowan stole the show, with Harris breaking her own school record in the 60 meter hurdles with an 8.48 in a second-place finish. Cowan won the 500 meters in a field of 44 competitors, crossing the line with a speedy 1:11.28. Cowan was also the runner-up in the 200 meter with a 24.75 finish.
“[Emile] had mono last [year] and it really kicked her butt, even with outdoor track last year she wasn’t the same,” women’s head coach Julia LaFreniere said. “So, at this point in the season to run 1:11 in the 500 is fantastic and is way ahead of where she was [last year].”
In the women’s 800 meter, Bryanna Rivers was the top finisher for the Minutewomen as she ran a 2:12.6, which was good for 13th place. In the same event, Collette O’Leary (2:15.78) and Alexina Hurley (2:16.75) finished 27th and 32nd, respectively.
Danielle Notarfrancesco headlined the field events for the women’s squad, as the sophomore earned a third-place finish in shot put with a 45 feet, 10.75-inch throw.
Rounding out the field events were seniors Bridget Deveau in long jump and Kayla Rorke in pole vault with both athletes earning sixth place for their efforts.
The Minutemen were led by Michael Cuthbert who finished fifth in the 200 meters with a speedy 21.74, which counted as the fastest time in program history since 1999.
“Mike’s been coach worthy and has been working hard,” said head coach David Jackson. “This is the right progression for him and I think moving forward we are really looking for him to enjoy the ride and when we get to [Atlantic 10] conferences to really compete for us and put us in a position to get the best team score.”
Jordan Howard (22.51), Hayden Gray (22.68) and Lucas Honohan (22.73) all posted personal records in the same event, finishing 47th, 55th and 60th, respectively, out of 137 competitors.
Colin Stoddard continued the PRs for the Minutemen, running a 1:05.61 in the 500 meters on the way to an eighth-place finish. Freshman Kevin Shannon (1:06.12) also had a strong race, placing second in his heat and 14th overall.
Other personal bests on the track included Michael Famiglietti (8:29.38) and Eric Waterman (8:36.59) in the 3,000 meters, as well as junior Dawson Bathgate (15:05.96) in the 5,000. Jonathan Collins missed tying his personal record by a hundredth of a second in the 60 meters hurdles, posting a 8.88 which earned him seventh in the event.
Finishing off the meet was Coston O’Brien in the weight throw. The sophomore threw for a personal best of 51 feet, 6.25 inches in a seventh-place effort.
Next up, UMass will travel back to Boston for the New England Championships which will start its championship racing season. The meet will begin at 10 a.m. on Friday at the Reggie Lewis Center.
Sean Richardson can be reached by email at [email protected].
