Seahawk track & field wins Smith Invitational

NORTHAMPTON, Mass. - Salve Regina was victorious Saturday at the Pioneer Invitational , hosted by Smith College, scoring 154 points. The Seahawks had only two event winners but eclipsed the eight other teams in the meet with scoring depth, placing 17 in the next three places.

"We had a great team effort today," commented head coach Matt Hird. "Having good weather for once must have helped because almost half of the performances represented seasonal bests.  We scored in nearly every event, with many events having multiple Seahawks recording points. No results were being posted during the meet so it was a happy surprise on the bus to find out we had won. This gives us a lot of positive energy going into the conference meet in two weeks."

Recording victories for the Seahawks were Victoria Luerssen (Miller Park, N.Y.) in the pole vault, and Chrissy Fraga (Milford, Mass.), in the triple jump. Leading the second place finishers was Taylor Donaldson (Clinton, Conn.) who not only set a collegiate best in the 400m of 61.82, but captured the school record in the that event as well, eclipsing the mark set by Sonia McQueen in 1985 of 62.1 seconds.

Also placing second in their events were Tara Ruddy (Sparta, N.J.) in the 100m with a season's best 13.05, Fraga in the 400m hurdles with a season-best of 70.34, Rylee Candon (Warwick, R.I.) in the long jump, leaping 15'4, and Rebecca Longvall (Boylston, Mass.) tossing the javelin 114'. Thirds were recorded by Ruddy in the 200m, Taylor Ricker (Rocky Point, N.Y.)  in the 5000m, Erin McCarthy (Walpole, Mass.) in the long jump,  Kaitlin Goy (Bethlehem, Pa.) in the pole vault, and Candon in the triple jump.

"Winning a track and field meet is always difficult because you can't choose your opponent, strategy is almost impossible,  and you can be competing with schools in Divisions I and II as we did today. That makes winning all the more satisfying," remarked Hird.

The Seahawks will next be in action at the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Invitational at Gordon College on April 26.