Dillon Flanigan- Sports Editor
The Women’s indoor track & field team won their first NE10 Conference Championship since 2011 on Saturday, Feb. 17. They finished the 2024 NE10 Indoor Championship with 201.75 points after the two-day event, winning eight individual championships and multiple gold, silver, and bronze medals.
“I think we came in very strong as a team. We have been working on this all season,” Hannah Caiola, a sophomore, said. “We all knew coming in we would win just because how hard we have been working this season.”
After day one, the Owls accrued 81 points leading Southern New Hampshire University, SNHU, in second place with 45. They controlled the entire meet and blew everyone away by the end of day two. Adelphi University was the runner-up with 124 points as SNHU fell into third place with 103 points.
“Our entire team showed out,” Ella Maclean, a junior, said. “We scored how we thought we were going to, which was exciting. Everybody did what they were seated to do or better, which was awesome for our team.”
In the 60-meter dash, Maclean placed first for the second year in a row, finishing with a time of 7.65. She was followed by Kisha Francois, a junior, with a time of 7.72. In the 400-meter dash, Caiola recorded a time of 56.58 followed by Avery Winters, a sophomore, with 57.69.
“Just thinking about trying to in my 60s at least have a good start. Get out of the blocks, and then be powerful the whole time,” Maclean said. “In my 200, I knew that if I got out fast out of the blocks and then could just stay nice and relaxed throughout the whole race that I would run it well.”
For the second event, Maclean repeated, finishing in first place in the 200-meter dash at 24.73 quickly followed by Winters with a time of 25.11.
In the 3000-meter relay, Courtney Henchcliffe, a junior, posted a time of 10:27.50, as Emilie Noreika, a graduate, finished in second place at 10:37.85. P.J. Dauphinais, a freshman, finished in third place with a time of 10:40.13.
The Owls finished runner-up in the 4×800 relay with a time of 9:50.31, as the university finished third in the 60-meter hurdles. Belle Smith, a freshman, placed first in the shot-put, throwing her farthest, 12.28 meters.
“I have been putting a lot of work in, but it was definitely tough. Absolute focus throughout the whole event,” Smith said. “I was building towards hitting twelve meters. Well overdue and a goal.”
Caiola, Smith, Francois and Maddie Hathorn, a sophomore, received a gold medal, with Maclean and Henchcliffe receiving two. Noreika, Francois and Dauphinais received a silver medal, with Winters and two relay teams receiving two. Noreika, Dauphinais and Patrice Mansfield, a sophomore, claimed the only bronze medals for the Owls.
The Owls competed in New England Championships March 1 and 2 as some look forward to nationals on March 8 and 9.
