UNH Women's Indoor Track & Field Upends Holy Cross, 105-71

Saturday, January 16

Durham, N.H.

12 PM

University of New Hampshire

Holy Cross

1/16/2016 5:35:00 PM | Women's Track & Field

Purrier Shatters School Record, 'Cats Win 13 of 17 Events

DURHAM, N.H. – Sophomore Elinor Purrier (Montgomery, Vt.) recorded the second-fastest-time in the nation this season with a school-record mark of 2 minutes, 46.02 seconds to highlight the University of New Hampshire women's track & field team's 105-71 victory against College of the Holy Cross in Saturday afternoon's dual meet at Paul Sweet Oval.

The Wildcats, returning to action for the first time since Dec. 12, 2015, won 13 of 17 events and finished 1-2 in six individual events to record the dual meet victory.

Purrier bested the previous 1,000m benchmark of 2:48.16 by 2.1 seconds. Allison Letourneau had set that mark in 2012.

UNH returns to action Jan. 22 (4 p.m.) at the Joe Donohue Invitational, which is hosted by Northeastern University at the Reggie Lewis Track & Athletic Center. The Wildcats' next home meet is also the final home meet of the season Jan. 30 (12 p.m.) against the University of Maine, University of Vermont and Bowdoin College.

Senior sprinter Lauren Perrodin (Coral Springs, Fla.) was the only student-athlete to win two individual events, as she led a pair of 1-2 UNH finishes in the 55-meter and 200m dashes. After recording the fastest qualifying time of 7.28 seconds in the 55m, she improved that mark with a winning time of 7.15 in the finals. Perrodin was clocked in 26.36 seconds to also capture first place in the 200m. Sydney Kay (Fairfield, Conn.) was runner-up in the 55m by crossing the finish line in 7.34, and Kristen Borque (Londonderry, N.H.) placed second in the 200m at 26.52.

The Wildcats recorded the top four performances in the high jump. Jeannette Mara (Bedford, N.H.) and Rachel Morrison (Westwood, Mass.) both cleared a height of 5-feet, 5-inches, but Mara took top honors on fewer faults. Tessa Artruc (Livonia, N.Y.) and Shelby Strickland (Kennebunk, Maine) followed with non-scoring marks of 5-3.

The Wildcats also took the top two spots in both the 800m and 1,000m. Cassie Kruse (Hampshire, Ill.) set the pace in the 800m with a time of 2:17.97 and was followed by Amanda Szymanski (Londonderry, N.H.) in 2:18.65. In the 1,000m, Shannon Murdock (Exeter, N.H.) followed Purrier across the finish line with a time of 2:56.67.

Hannah Kimball (Atkinson, N.H.) and Alex Giese (Franklin, Mass.) ran away from the competition in the 3000m to take the top two places with respective times of 10:09.83 and 10:13.61. The next runner finished 11.13 seconds behind Giese.

Danielle Gajewski (Danville, N.H.) raced in the fastest-seeded heat of the 400m and was the only competitor to run a sub-minute time at 59.58 seconds. Teammate Jessica Hackett (Dover, N.H.) earned two points for the 'Cats with a third-place effort of 1:01.41.

Alyson Messina (Plymouth, Mass.) bested four other runners in the 500m with a winning time of 1:18.99. Gina Conti (East Walpole, Mass.) crossed the finish line in 1:22.53 for third place.

UNH also won both relays. The quartet of Artruc, Gajewski, Hackett and Messina outraced two Holy Cross entries in the 4x400m with a time of 4:02.85. In the 4x800m, the combination of Kruse, Murdock, Purrier and Szymanski crossed the finish line in 9:15.98 – almost 24 seconds ahead of the Crusaders.

New Hampshire took top honors in three field events. Sabrina Anderson (Homewell, N.J.) cleared a height of 10-feet, 10-inches for first place in the pole vault while Abigail Kaplan (Franklin, N.H.) bested the competition in the shot put with a winning throw of 38-1.5 and Mary Mullen (Loudon, N.H.) recorded the top effort in the weight throw with a mark of 48-4.75. Emily Wernig (Gilford, N.H.) was runner-up in the weight throw at 47-1.

Holy Cross' Rachel Sowinski edged UNH's Angelyn Masters (Bangor, Maine) in the mile run with a time of 5:08.54, just .32 of a second ahead of Masters. Samantha Blais (Lyndeborough, N.H.) and Sarah Keiran (Rowley, Mass.) recorded the next two fastest times of 5:10.31 and 5:12.72, respectively.

For the most up-to-date information on the women's track & field team, visit the new UNHWildcats. Text UNH to 90561 to sign up for Sports alerts. Message & Data Rates May Apply. 1 message/text. Consent to receive a text message is not a condition of purchasing goods or services. Text HELP to 90561 for info. STOP to cancel. T&Cs & Privacy Policy is available HERE. Click HERE to sign up for newsletters on your favorite sports.