Dec. 11, 2011

Results

Sophomore Candace Greene (Annapolis, Md.) won the shot put and provisionally qualified for the NCAA Championship to lead the UMass Lowell women’s track and field team at the Reggie Poyau Invitational Saturday at Brandeis University.

UMass Lowell scored 111 points and placed second to Stonehill, which compiled 129 points. The hosts took third place and were followed by Keene State (71), Bentley (48), Connecticut College (39), Emmanuel College (30) and Lasell (15).

Greene was among four UMass Lowell athletes who took home titles as senior Ashley Zielinski (Manchester, N.H.) won the 55 meter dash and the 200 meter dash while sophomore Elisabeth Monty (Charlton, Mass.) won the 55 meter hurdles.

Greene threw for an indoor-best 45 feet, 4.5 inches which currently ranks ninth on the NCAA Division II Performance List. She was one of two scorers in the shot put as junior Robyn Ciriello (Salem, N.H.) placed second with a distance of 37’ 4.5’’.

In a busy day, Zielinski won the 55 meter dash in 7.35 seconds and went on to win the 200 meter dash in 26.45 seconds. In the 55, Zielinski was one of three River Hawks in the top four places as freshman Taelour Murphy (Salisbury, Mass.) took second in 7.41 and senior Nicole Giaquinto (Winthrop, Mass.) fourth in 7.55.

Zielinski was one of three River Hawks to score in the 200 meters. Monty placed second in 26.59 seconds while sophomore Diamond Jones (Lowell, Mass.) took sixth in 27.73.

Jones also took third in the triple jump with a distance of 34’ 5.75’’, just behind freshman teammate Rachel Surette (Haverhill, Mass.), who took second with a leap of 34’ 7.0’’.

Monty and Zielinski finished one and two in the 55 meter hurdles, Monty first in 8.39 seconds and Zielinski second in 8.42. Freshman Erika Shay (Waltham, Mass.) placed sixth in 9.07 seconds.

Murphy and Shay also led UMass Lowell’s 4X400 meter relay team to second place in 4:10.59, just behind Brandeis (4:10.04). Shay led off with a 61.9-second leg while Murphy followed in 61.2 seconds. Freshman Cassie Harding (Amesbury, Mass.) ran a 65.8-second split while freshman Kim Gabrielle (Raynham, Mass.) anchored in 61.1 seconds.

Other scorers for UMass Lowell included sophomore Samantha Otten (Ashland, Mass.), who placed third in the 600 meter run in 1:48.90.

Sophomore Karie Judge (Tewksbury, Mass.) led three River Hawks in the mile as she finished third in 5:26.87. Harding took fifth in 5:30.56 while junior Colleen Kennedy (Wilmington, Mass.) placed sixth in 5:30.94.

UMass Lowell enjoys nearly a month hiatus until the Dartmouth Relays Jan. 8.