STANDISH, Maine – The Regis College women's track and field team picked up six event titles on its way to a second place overall finish at the 2023 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Outdoor Track and Field Championships, hosted by Saint Joseph's College Saturday and Sunday, April 29-30.
Ashleigh Kelley (Stoneham, Mass.) earned three more individual GNAC titles, starting with a victory in the 1500 meter run by two seconds with a time of 5:21.55. She then finished first in the 800 meter run in 2:36.43 and the 5000 meter run in 19:38.14.
Erin Kelley (Stoneham, Mass.) picked up her own individual GNAC gold medal in the 10,000 meter run Saturday night with a GNAC Championship record time of 41:21.73, with Madelyn Klein (Framingham, Mass.) finishing third in 42:44.75. In Sunday's 5000 meter run, Kelley finished second in 19:50.21, and Klein crossed the finish line in fourth place with a time of 20:42.77.
Anastazia Copeland (West Hartford, Conn.) collected another GNAC individual title, winning the hammer throw Saturday afternoon with a mark of 36.90 meters (121' 1"). After finishing sixth in that event at 34.21 meters (112' 3"), Tori Bradley (Dracut, Mass.) collected All-GNAC honors with a third place finish in the discus throw with a mark of 27.18 meters (89' 2").
The 4x100 meter relay team of Lily Belschner (Revere, Mass.), Olivia Dench (Center Moriches, N.Y.), Abby Kilbride (Peabody, Mass.), and Mikayla Francois (Walpole, Mass.) won by 1/10th of a second over Colby-Sawyer. In the 100 meter dash, Kilbride earned All-GNAC honors with a third place finish in 14.06 seconds, followed by Belschner in fourth in 14.10 seconds and Francois in sixth in 14.18 seconds.
Regis posted two All-GNAC performances in the 3000 meter steeplechase as Libby Parker (Bow, N.H.) finished second in 13:10.61 and Elisa D'Sa (Bellmore, N.Y.) placed third in 13:32.12. D'Sa also finished second in the 400 meter hurdles in 1:17.30 and, as the anchor leg for the 4x400 meter relay, overtook Emmanuel for second place in that event, combining with Francois, Dench, and Kilbride for an overall time of 5:00.02.
Back at the throws, Pilar Brown (Rockland, Mass.) placed third for All-GNAC honors in the shot put with a mark of 9.45 meters (31' 0"), followed by Kristin Barrett (Plymouth, Mass.) in fourth place at 9.23 meters (30' 3.5"). In the javelin throw, Alayja Linton (Nashua, N.H.) picked up All-GNAC honors with a third place finish at 26.42 meters (86' 8").
Francois also scored points in two other events, finishing fourth in the 100 meter hurdles in 18.53 seconds and fifth in the long jump with a mark of 4.21 meters (13' 9.75"). In Saturday's 4x800 meter relay, the quartet of Annabelle Jean-Philippe (Randolph, Mass.), Parker, Katie Kelley (Stoneham, Mass.), and Ashleigh Kelley finished second with an overall time of 10:56.90.
Emmanuel College used its advantage in the jumping events to prevail with the overall team title, collecting 175 points to Regis' 167 points.
Those who have qualified will be eligible to compete at the New England Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships next weekend, May 4-6, at Springfield College.