Track and Field Powers Through Windy Conditions for Solid Showing at Springfield

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (4/23/16) - The men's and women's track teams had to fight some tough winds on Saturday afternoon at the Vern Cox Invite on the campus of Springfield College.

Sophomore Josh Nixon (Bloomfield, Conn.) kicked things off in the long jump, and posted a 5.81 meter jump good for 13th overall.  He later competed in the triple jump where he placed 5th overall and set a new school record along with a personal best with a final mark of 11.57 meters. 

In the 1500 meter run, sophomore Troy Gonsalves (Providence, R.I.) just missed out on his personal best by six seconds.  Next up was the 400 meter dash which featured two freshmen, Kyle Vonick (Wethersfield, Conn.) and Ben Lane (Rutland, V.T.).  Vonick and Lane were in the same heat and worked together for back-to-back finishes.  Vonick ran a 53.35 while Lane was right behind at 53.75.  Lane came back and ran a windy 200 meter dash, and still posted a solid 23.80.  The final event featured senior Jeremy Shriber (Central Valley, N.Y.) and freshman Ryan Dalaba (Granville, N.Y) in the 5000 meters.  The wind was in full force as the duo seemed to find each other and worked together each lap alone.  Dalaba crossed the line first in 17:32.96 and Shriber wasn't far behind at 17:38.92. 

Starting things off for the women was freshman Hannah Meyers in the javelin.  Meyers threw a Season best of 29.76 meters which was good for 10th place overall.  After the javelin throw, she found her way to the discus circle where she threw 24.01 meters missing out on her personal best by three meters.  The track events began with a hot race which featured senior Melissa Cooley (Huntington Beach, Calif.) in the 400 meters.  Cooley placed 3rd overall and ran a time of 60.70, which proved to be be a .04 second personal best and a new school record.  Next up in the 800 meter dash was junior Nora McCabe (Cranston, R.I.) and sophomore Shannon Hart (Mashpee, Mass.) who  both hit personal bests in the event.  McCabe ran a five second PR while Hart ran a two second personal best.  The 200 meter run featured junior Ayumi Ranucci (Auburn, Maine), who ran a personal best time of 27.65 and placed her 15th overall.  Closing out the meet was the 4x400, which featured Cooley and Jaime Russo (Watertown, Mass.), Ranucci, and sophomore Lauren Lenahan (Weymouth, Mass.).  Leading off was Ranucci as she put the team in a good position to hand off to Lenahan.  Lenahan had a strong leg, and gained ground on the leaders before Russo held the spot and put the team in good position for the anchor leg.  Cooley ran a strong anchor leg to cross the line and placed 5th overall, good for a new school record time of 4:22.04.

The Lasers will compete next weekend in the final regular season meet at Regis College in the Pride Invite, where Lasell will try to post last chance qualifications for the Division III New England Championship and the ECAC Championship.