ROXBURY, Mass. - ChiChi Akanegbu (North Easton, Mass.) set a program record in the shot put and qualified for the New England Championships to highlight the Regis (Mass.) track and field team's indoor season opening meet Saturday at the UMass Boston Indoor Open held at the Reggie Lewis Center.
Akanegbu was one of three Pride athletes to finish in the top 10 of the women's shot put. In winning the event, she set a new program record on her first throw then bested it one toss later (12.49 meters) to qualify her for February's Division III New England Indoor Championships. She also threw 13.39 meters in the weight throw. Elisabeth Cooke (East Longmeadow, Mass.) placed sixth, throwing a personal best 11.37 meters to also qualify her for the New England Championships. Elliana Boebel (Bedford, Mass.) threw a personal best 10.90 meters good for 10th place.
In track events, Abby Flaherty (Millbury, Mass.) finished eighth in her 400-meter collegiate debut with a time of 103.53. Fellow freshman teammate, Nyah Webb (Boston, Mass.), ran a time of 1:08.52. Fatima St. Hilaire (Danvers, Mass.) ran a time of 8.37 in the 100-meter dash, finishing 19th of 78 competitors and Keegan Duguay (Watertown, Mass.) placed 17th of 39 (10.58) runners in the 60 meter hurdles. Maddie Boucias (Buckland, Mass.) ran her 3,000 race in 11:34.60 good for 14th place.
The women's 4x400 meter relay of St. Hilaire, Webb, Flaherty and Cassandra Froio (Tewksbury, Mass.) ran a time of 4:36.29, with a strong anchor leg by Flaherty.
Men's action saw Dan LaFlamme (Watertown, Conn.) place 10th of 38 competitors in the weight throw with a personal best distance of 12.32 meters while also throwing 10.93 meters in the shot. Frank Pelleteri (Freeport, Maine) cracked the top 20 as well (17th of 60) in the shot put, throwing a personal best 12.30 meters. LaFlamme took 33rd in that event, followed by freshman Cole Anderson who took 34th.
Jovan Sematimba (Burlington, Mass.) won his heat of the 3,000 meter with a time of 9:39.27, followed by teammates Nick Sahagian (10:06.58) and Sean Toomey (10:09.23). Fred Mathieu (Miami, Fla.) finished 11th in the 500 meter, with a time of 1:12.03. Bryan Torres (Central Falls, R.I.) had a strong showing in his collegiate 200 meter debut, placing 58th of 136, with a time of 24.28.
The men's 4x400 meter relay of Sematimba, Sahagian, Toomey and Hank Jean-Jacques (Fairfield, Conn.) ran a time of 3:49.35.
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