Posted: May 02, 2015

School relay record smashed at New England Division III Championships

Salve Regina's record-setting relay team (l-r): Victoria Varone, Shannon Holden, Olivia Wilson, Raquel Pouliot. (Photo by Jen McGuinness)

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - The Salve Regina 4 x 800m relay team saved the best for last at the New England Division III Championships held at MIT on May 1-2, as they smashed the old school record which had stood since 2007. The team of Raquel Pouliot (Coventry, Conn.), Victoria Varone (Providence, R.I.), Shannon Holden (Hingham, Mass.) and Olivia Wilson (Bethel, Conn.) toured the eight laps in 10:13.69, breaking the previous mark of 10:25.69 set by Christina Ricciardi, Colleen O'Toole, Ali Rodino, and current assistant track and field coach Kacie Gallo set in by 12 seconds. Gallo was on hand to watch her share of the record get expunged and was enthusiastic in her congratulations of the new record holders.

Also competing in the meet was Chrissy Fraga (Milford, Mass.) in the heptathlon, a series of seven events contested over two days. Competitors score points based on their results in the events. Fraga started out on Friday with the 100m hurdles, recording a collegiate best 17.52 for a gain of 74 points over her qualifying effort. Next came the High Jump where her best jump (4'3.5") was 2 centimeters shy of her qualifying leap for a 20 points loss. After the high jump came the shot put where again, her effort of 7.81 (25' 7.5") meters was off her qualifying mark with a loss of another 88 points from her qualifying pace. It would need a good 200m time to get back to the points she had earned over the first day of qualifying. Fraga responded with a big improvement, running 27.44 for a 74 point gain and a first day total of 2021, 40 points ahead of her qualifying pace.

Day two saw Fraga standing in 12th place. The javelin throw started the competition and Fraga tossed the spear 23.66 meters (77' 7") for 357 points and a 19 point gain. The long jump was the sixth event and here Fraga faltered slightly, jumping 4.42 meters (14' 6") for a total of 408 points, an 18 point loss. It all came down to the 800m, an event with which Fraga is not terribly comfortable. However, she came through with flying colors, even passing some competitors down the stretch and crossing the line in 2:40.37. This four second improvement over her qualifying effort represented a 46 point event gain and a two day total of 3355 points compared to the 3268 total which got her into the meet.

Fraga, who is a neophyte to the multi-event competition, enjoyed her experience as she improved her placing over the last three events to 10th overall. "It was fun," she said. "I think this will definitely help me for next year in knowing how to approach the events and organize my training."

Rebecca Longvall (Boylston, Mass.) competed in the javelin for the fourth consecutive year. The senior co-captain came up with her best place finish ever, improving on her 16th place seed and finishing 10th. Longvall threw her javelin 37.47 meters (113' 1") in the final effort of a great career.

Amy Irving (Bohemia, N.Y.) had a rough day in the 5000m. Experiencing her first New England track and field championship, she misjudged the early pace and finished 18th, 41 seconds off her qualifying time. Her assistant coach Rob McGuinness offered, "Some lessons are hard learned but Amy will bounce back and the experience will make her a better racer."

The 4 x 100m team of Fraga, Taylor Donaldson (Clinton, Conn.), senior co-captain Kelsey Knight (Amherst, N.H.) and Erin McCarthy (Walpole, Mass.) opened Saturday's competition for Salve Regina by clocking their best time of the season in 51.85 and improving four places over their seeding. The quartet beat four teams which came in with faster times and finished 14th.

"The New England's are always a great meet", commented head coach Matthew Hird. "The excitement is palpable and the challenge of competing against the best Division III New England has to offer is a great one for our athletes. They look forward to proving themselves against the best and really give it everything they have. This meet was no exception and I am really proud of the way we competed. This year's team is composed of some of the finest young women I have had the pleasure to coach. They have great attitudes, they train and compete hard, and are great fun to practice with every day. I will miss Rebecca, Kelsey and MaryElizabeth Pfund (Tenafly, N.J.), who unfortunately suffered a stress fracture in her hip and spent the season on crutches, immensely. We have a great group of returning athletes and I am looking forward to another enjoyable and rewarding season of achievement next year."