Defending GNAC Champion Track & Field Team Opens New Season

WESTON, Mass. – Coming off Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) championships for both squads last spring, the Regis College men's and women's track and field teams begin their 2018-19 campaign with eyes on continued improvement throughout the program.

Head coach Kourtney Bonsey, the GNAC Coach of the Year last season, enters her third year at the helm of the Regis track and field program. There is consistency within the entire coaching staff, as assistant coaches John Boisette and A.J. White both return for their second year with the Pride.

Five men and three women who won conference titles either individually or as part of a relay are back for the upcoming season. In total, 10 males and 11 females bring championship experience from last year to this year's roster, and they are joined by 21 total newcomers to the program: nine men and 12 women.

For the men, senior Daniel LaFlamme (Watertown, Conn.), the GNAC Men's Field Athlete of the Year and conference champion in the shot put, will lead the throwers along with GNAC discus champion Cole Anderson (Falmouth, Maine). The distance group will contain a lot of experience, featuring 2018 GNAC champions Shane Romanchick (Trumbull, Conn.), Jovan Sematimba (Burlington, Mass.), and Sean Toomey (Salem, N.H.).

On the women's side, junior Maddie Boucias (Buckland, Mass.), the 2018 GNAC champion in the 5000 meter run, will be part of a young distance contingent. The sprinting group enjoys experience thanks to senior Cassandra Froio (Tewksbury, Mass.), part of both GNAC-winning relays last spring, and sophomore Abby Flaherty (Millbury, Mass.), a member of the league champion 4x400 meter relay team as well as the GNAC Women's Track Rookie of the Year.

Seniors Elliana Boebel (Bedford, Mass.) and Liz Ksepka (Calais, Vt.) and junior Elisabeth Cooke (East Longmeadow, Mass.) look to once again contend for conference titles in the throwing events. Both teams will also look to the newcomers to add much-needed depth as the Pride defend their conference titles in April.

The indoor track and field season begins Saturday, Dec. 1, at the UMass Boston Open at the Reggie Lewis Center in Roxbury, Mass., followed by the Plymouth State Classic in Plymouth, N.H., Dec. 8. After the holiday break, the team is scheduled to compete in meets at Brandeis (Jan. 12), Smith (Jan. 19), Tufts (Jan. 26), Plymouth State (Feb. 2), and MIT (Feb. 9).

The student-athletes who meet qualifying standards will compete at the Division III New England Indoor Track and Field Championships Saturday, Feb. 23, with the men returning to MIT in Cambridge, Mass., while the women head to Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine.

The outdoor track and field season kicks off one month later at Bridgewater State (March 23), followed by a meet at Tufts March 30. The Pride will host the Regis Spring Classic Friday, April 5, starting at 2:30 p.m., and then they will compete in the Penmen Relays in Manchester, N.H., April 13, and the Sean Collier Invitational in Cambridge, Mass., April 20.

Once again, Regis will host the GNAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships, taking place at Regis Stadium Sunday, April 28. The season will conclude with the Division III New England Outdoor Track and Field Championships May 3-4.