Women’s Track & Field Shines in Outdoor Opener, Takes Third at UTA Bobby Lane Invitational

ARLINGTON, Texas (March 23, 2019) – It was five school records, four NEICAAA qualifying marks and a pair of NCAA Championships provisional qualifying marks on Saturday, as the Franklin Pierce University track & field team burst into the outdoor season in style. The Ravens notched a pair of event wins along the way to a third-place finish, out of 13 teams, at the UTA Bobby Lane Invitational, hosted by the University of Texas at Arlington, at Maverick Stadium.

Franklin Pierce finished the meet with 71 points, which put the Ravens behind only a pair of Division I institutions. Host UT-Arlington claimed the meet title with 177 points, while Arkansas-Pine Bluff followed in second with 127 points.

Senior CeCe Telfer (Lebanon, N.H.) did the most damage for the Ravens on Saturday, as she collected 20 points with a pair of event wins. She took first place in both the 200-meter dash (24.30) and the 100-meter hurdles (13.72). Telfer set school records and met both the NCAA Championships provisional and NEICAAA Championships qualifying standards in both events.

Elsewhere, senior Lilian Baah (Danielson, Conn.), freshman Paola Brena (Queretaro, Mexico) and freshman Stephanie Phoenix (Wallingford, Conn.) all posted one school record apiece, all in field events. Baah finished second in the triple jump (11.51m) to earn eight points, Brena added eight more points by placing second in the high jump (1.66m) and Phoenix took third in the pole vault (3.00m) to chalk up six points. Baah doubled back to score in the long jump as well, as she placed sixth (4.96m) to earn three points.

Franklin Pierce had two other student-athletes who scored in a pair of events at UT-Arlington. Junior Savannah Drowne (Athol, Mass.) finished second in the javelin (33.80m) for eight points and also took sixth in the hammer throw (37.96m) for three points, while junior Katey Comstock (Windsor, Vt.) added sixth in the discus (37.60m) for three points and seventh in the shot put (11.26m) for two points.

Behind Drowne in the javelin, freshman Julia Groll (Southington, Conn.) finished fifth (29.97m) to chalk up four points. Behind Brena in the high jump, junior Olivia Mabbett (Milford, N.H.) placed fifth (1.51m) to earn four points as well and round out the team's field-event scoring.

Only one other Raven picked up points out on the track on Saturday. Freshman Alana Thompson (Westampton, N.J.) earned a pair of points with a seventh-place finish in the 800 meters (2:22.01).

The Ravens return to action on Friday, March 29, when select athletes will compete at the Florida Relays, hosted by the University of Florida, in Gainesville, Fla. 

For more information on Franklin Pierce Athletics, please visit the official website of Franklin Pierce Athletics (https://www.fpuravens.com). Also be sure to follow the Ravens through the Department of Athletics' official Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/FranklinPierceRavens), its YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/franklinpiercesports) and its Twitter feed (http://twitter.com/FPUathletics). Fans wishing to purchase Franklin Pierce track & field apparel can do so at the Department of Athletics' online store (https://www.fpuravens.com/store).