Middlebury, VT --- The WPI women's track & field team put forth five All-New England performances and broke a pair of school records as the squad tied for 14th at the two-day NCAA Division III New England Championship which concluded Saturday at Middlebury's Virtue Field House. MIT claimed the team crown with 123.5 points.
The Engineers, who entered the week ninth in the USTFCCCA regional rankings, posted 23 points to tie UMass Boston, the team directly behind them in the poll. Of the remaining top 10, WPI finished ahead of sixth-ranked Wheaton who came home 16th with 12 points.
The 4x400-meter relay team of sophomore Sara Velleca (Woodbury, CT), senior Alex Price (Franklin, MA), senior Liz Pellegrini (Worcester, MA) and sophomore Lea Strangio (Watertown, MA) was the runner up in a time of 4:02.40 while the 4x200-meter relay lineup of Velleca, Price, sophomore Taylor Teed (Boxford, MA) and freshman Michelle Gencorelli (Andover, MA) raced to a third-place 1:45.54.
Senior Julie Tevenan (Weymouth, MA), sophomore Gina Capobianco (Colonie, NY), junior Kimberlee Kocienski (Schaghticoke, NY) and sophomore Emily Newman (Easton, MA) set the first record of the day when they collaborated to place fifth in the distance medley relay (12:38.67). Oddly enough, another fifth-place effort also broke a school record as Strangio reset her own mark in the 600-meter run (1:37.80). Sophomore Maggie LaRoche (Silverlake, NH) rounded out the All-New England honorees with an eighth-place 3:04.71 in the 1,000-meter run.
The configuration of Newman, Kocienski, Capobainco and Tevenan added a ninth-place time of 9:55.88 in the 4x800-meter relay. Pellegrini clocked a sixth-place 9.22 to gain a spot in the 60-meter hurdle finals where she ended up ninth in a time of 9:48. She also placed 10th in the 200-meter dash (26.25). The 60mH prelims also saw freshman Cole Godzinski (North Reading, MA) place 14th (9.59) while Teed and Gencorelli each handed in a 200m time of 27.46.
Sophomore Abby McAdams (Montville, CT) contested the pentathlon on Friday and finished 11th with a score of 2,675. Her day was highlighted by a fifth-place time of 2:34.78 in the 800m and a PR of 10.46 in the 60mH. The pole vault saw junior Sarah Muse (Portsmouth, NH) and freshman Carley Dykstra (Andover, NJ) clear 10 feet as part of a six-way tie for 13th while freshman Xandria Korn (Woodinville, WA) and McAdams each elevated 4-10.25 in the high jump.
Qualified student-athletes will return to BU next weekend for the All-New England All-Divisions (NEICAAA) Championships.