Women’s Track & Field Shines at Pair of Meets, Wins Eric Loeschner Invite

FITCHBURG, Mass. (April 20, 2019) – With championship season just two weeks away, the Franklin Pierce University women's track & field team had athletes in action at a pair of meets on Saturday, and the Ravens were rounding into championship form at both of them. At Princeton's Larry Ellis Invitational, it was three NCAA provisional marks, including a pair of times which rank in the top five in the country. Meanwhile, at the Eric Loeschner Memorial Invitational at Fitchburg State, it was a meet title, with seven event wins and a slew of top-three finishes. Across the two sites, the Ravens won 10 events on the day.

Franklin Pierce had most of its heavy hitters in the Garden State on Saturday, for the Larry Ellis Invitational at Princeton. Senior CeCe Telfer (Lebanon, N.H.) hit the NCAA Championships provisional qualifying mark in a pair of hurdles events. She won the 100-meter hurdles, with a time of 13.69 seconds. The mark was just two tenths of a second slower than her preliminary heat time of 13.67 seconds, which improved upon her already-NE10-leading time. The mark currently sits fourth in the country. Telfer added a run of 59.23 seconds to win the 400-meter hurdles as well, and posted another NCAA Championships provisional qualifying time in the process.

Telfer was not the only one to crack the nation's top five in an event for the Ravens at Princeton. Freshman Paola Brena (Queretaro, Mexico) got up and over 1.74 meters to win the high jump. She hit the NCAA provisional mark in the event yet again, improved on her NE10-leading mark, and the height is now tied for fourth in the country.

Also in New Jersey, senior Lilian Baah (Danielson, Conn.) turned in a mark of 11.58 meters in the triple jump, to finish seventh.

Meanwhile, back closer to home, in the Bay State, the team did not need said heavy hitters to pick up its first meet win of the season. The Ravens piled up seven event victories on the way to 157 points and a runaway victory at Fitchburg State's Eric Loeschner Invite. Franklin Pierce was victorious by more than 60 points over second-place University of New England (95 points), while host Fitchburg State finished third (62.33 points).

One of the day's highlights was a pair of 1-2-3 finishes in field events, as the Ravens swept the top three spots of both the shot put and the hammer throw. In the shot put, junior Katey Comstock (Windsor, Vt.) was first with a throw of 11.35 meters, senior Kendra Covington (Torrington, Conn.) took second with a heave of 10.84 meters and freshman Samantha DeSouza (Sebago, Maine) placed third with a distance of 10.49 meters. In the hammer, it was Covington in first (38.89m), junior Savannah Drowne (Athol, Mass.) in second (38.82m) and freshman Julia Groll (Southington, Conn.) in third (38.03m).

Comstock doubled up with a win in the discus as well (37.34m), while Groll added a win in the javelin (29.82m) to go with her hammer performance. Junior Olivia Mabbett (Milford, N.H.) chalked up a win in the high jump by clearing 1.50 meters to make it five field-event victories for the Ravens.

Franklin Pierce's remaining two wins came out on the track, where sophomore Alyssa Harris (Billerica, Mass.) took first in the 100-meter dash (13.22) and the 4x400-meter relay team was victorious as well (4:48.77). Freshman MaCayla Glenn (Springfield, Mass.) added a third-place finish behind Harris in the 100-meter dash, with a time of 13.42 seconds.

Three other Ravens notched top-three finishes in track events at Fitchburg State. Junior Rebecca Zylak (Goffstown, N.H.) was second in the 1500 meters (5:14.90), followed by sophomore Marissa Farago (Salisbury, Mass.) in third (5:17.94), while sophomore Sara Joyce (Pepperell, Mass.) placed second in the 200-meter dash (29.38).

The Ravens return to action on Saturday, April 27, when they travel to the Capital District Classic, hosted by Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y. 

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).