Bridgewater, Mass. – On a low-40 degree day with sporadic rain, the men's and women's track & field teams opened their outdoor season at the BSU Bears Invitational hosted by Bridgewater State University. The rain and the cold weather did not stop the Judges from putting up 17 top-6 performances, nor did it prevent 3 Judges from qualifying for the Division III New England Outdoor Track & Field Championship.
Amongst the 17 top-6 performances, there were 2 individual event-winners. Rookie Aaron Corin (Sudbury, Mass. / Lincoln-Sudbury Regional) won the pole vault by clearing 3.80m (12 feet, 5.5 inches). In addition to Corin, senior Irie Gourde (Portland, Ore. / York School, Canada) won the 400-meter run, blowing the rest of the field away by over half a second with a run of 50.63 seconds. This performance, Gourde's first appearance in an outdoor meet wearing the Judges' stripes, qualified him for the D-III New England Outdoor Track & Field Championship.
Two other athletes—rookie Jack Allan (Wrentham, Mass. / King Phillip Regional) and sophomore Regan Charie (Topsfield, Mass. / Masconomet Regional)—joined Gourde in qualifying for the D-III New England Outdoor Track & Field Championship. Qualifying in the 110-meter high hurdles, Allan's performance of 15.83 second placed third overall and was also the fastest performance of all freshman in the event. Charie qualified in the 200-meter where he ran 22.91 seconds to place fifth. He also competed in the 100-meter where he placed sixth with a time of 11.36 seconds.
As exemplified by Corin and Allan, it was a big day for the rookies. In the 800-meter, rookie Maddie Hayman (Worcester, Mass. / Burncoat) earned second with a time of 2:30.60. Also on the track, rookies Lydia Harris (Damariscotta, Me. / Scarborough) and Kayla Fahey (Kingston, Mass. / Silver Lake Regional) went third and fifth in the 400-meter intermediate hurdles with times of 1:13.25 and 1:18.62, respectively. Fahey also earned third in the long jump with a leap of 4.87m (15' 11.75"). Fellow rookie Willa Moen (Ashland, Ore. / Ashland) earned second in the pole vault by clearing 3.05m (10' 0"). Moen was joined by senior teammate and captain Beth Deffossez (Boxford, Mass. / Masconomet Regional) who placed third in pole vault with 2.90m (9' 6.25").
Other top-6 finishers include third- and fifth-place 1500-meter finishes from junior Kyra Shreeve (Northborough, Mass. / Algonquin Regional) and sophomore Meaghan Barry (Marlborough, Mass. / Worcester Academy), running 5:04.16 and 5:09.19, respectively. Sophomore Maya Sands-Bliss (Williamsburg, Mass. / Amherst Regional) ran an outdoor best 1:02.67 to place sixth in the 400-meter. Fellow sophomore Scott Grote (Greenfield, Mass. / Greenfield) placed fourth in the discus, throwing 48.71m (127' 0"). Injury-plagued sophomore Henry McDonald (Weymouth, Mass. / Weymouth) made his first appearance for the Judges in nearly a year to place sixth in long jump with a jump of 5.98m (19' 7.5"). Rounding out the top-6 finishers, senior captain Mark Franklin (Auburn, N.H. / Pinkerton Academy) cleared 1.77m (5' 9.75") in the high jump for sixth.
The Judges return to competition next Saturday at the Tufts University-hosted Tufts Snowflake Classic.
By Henry McDonald '19