Women’s Track to Race at David Hemery Invite (Feb. 12) & Maine (Feb. 13)

Friday, February 12

Boston

12 PM

University of New Hampshire

David Hemery Valentine Invitational

Photo by: Elise Austin-Washburn

Women’s Track to Race at David Hemery Invite (Feb. 12) & Maine (Feb. 13)

2/11/2016 2:24:00 PM | Women's Track & Field

DURHAM, N.H. - The University of New Hampshire women's track & field team is set to compete at the David Hemery Invitational on Friday and at a dual meet with the University of Maine on Saturday.

Last Time Out
New Hampshire most recently placed fourth out of 11 programs (79 points) at the University of Rhode Island Coaches vs. Domestic Violence Tribute meet. Senior Lauren Perrodin (Coral Springs, Fla.) placed first in the 60-meter dash (7.66 seconds) and second in the 200-meter run (25.79 seconds). Junior Hannah Kimball (Atkinson, N.H.) set a personal record with a first-place finish in the mile (4:57.45).

Meet Details
UNH will bring a select few runners to the David Hemery Invite on Friday to try and qualify for the championships. On Saturday, the women's team will bring a full team to Maine.

Next Up
The Wildcats will head to New York for the America East Championships on February 19-20. The two-day meet will put UNH against the rest of the league. New Hampshire finished fourth overall in the event a season ago with 107 points.

Perrodin Performs
Perrodin looks to give her team an edge with a victory as the lone Wildcat competing in the 200-meter event on Friday. The senior captain claimed first-place in the 60-meter dash (7.66 seconds) and second in the 200-meter dash (25.79 seconds) at the Rhode Island Invitational on Feb. 6.

More Mile
UNH will feature some of their finest runners in the mile event, with senior Laura Rose Donegan (Melbourne, Australia) on that list. Donegan last raced on Jan. 29 and recorded a personal-record time of 9:34.44 in the 3,000-meter event.

Senior Alex Giese (Franklin, Mass.) returns to action in the mile after helping New Hampshire's distance medley relay squad place first on Jan. 22 at the Joe Donahue Games.

Another Wildcat mile competitor is coming off an excellent performance is sophomore Elinor Purrier (Montgomery, Vt.). In the John Thomas Terrier Classic at Boston University (Jan. 29), Purrier placed second overall in the mile run (4:37.54).

Freshman Shannon Murdock (Exeter, N.H.) won her last mile race (4:58.67) on Jan. 30 at the Paul Sweet Oval. Chelsey Serrano (Raymond, N.H.) rounds out the mile squad in her first race since finishing 24th overall (9:54.18) in the 3,000-meter event on Jan. 29 at Boston University.

3K Wildcats
New Hampshire's 3k squad will consist of senior Keene natives Brianna Boden (Keene, N.H.) and Amber Short (Keene, N.H.), alongside juniors Sarah Keiran (Rowley, Mass.) and Amanda Szymanski (Londonderry, N.H.)

Boden recorded an Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference qualifying time her last time out during the 5,000-meter race Jan. 29. Meanwhile, Short is coming off a personal-best time of 9:51.51 in the 3,000-meter event at Boston University (Jan. 29). Keiran recorded a third-place finish (5:12.72) in her last mile run on Jan. 16 against the College of the Holy Cross. Syzmanski placed 21st overall in the mile (4:58.57) on Jan. 29.

Standout Rookie
As for Saturday's meet, freshman Jessica Hackett (Dover, N.H.) is set to continue her first season in Wildcat blue while racing in the 60-meter and 200-meter events in Maine. Hackett returns to the track after finishing second in the 55-meter dash (7:42 seconds) on Jan. 30.

Pole Vault
UNH is hoping for a strong showing in the field events as well. In the pole vault, the Wildcats will feature a young, talented trio led by freshmen Sabrina Anderson (Homewell, N.J) and Grace Slevin (Bozemna, Mont.) along with sophomore Kari Murnane (Byram, N.J.).

Anderson took first in the pole vault (10 feet, 10 inches) on Jan. 16, while Murnane placed second in the same event (11 feet, 3.75 inches) on Feb. 6 at the Rhode Island Invitational.

Throw For Gold
Head coach Robert Hoppler has penciled in four throwers to compete on Saturday. Sophomores Emily Wernig (Gilford, N.H.) and Mary Mullen (Loudon, N.H.) will represent UNH in the throwing events alongside senior Abigail Kaplan (Franklin, N.H.) and freshman Emma Pluntke (Solon, Maine).

Wernig set a new personal record Jan. 30 in the weight throw to guide UNH to a quad meet victory. The sophomore seeks to continue her success on Saturday. Mullen notched the top effort in the weight throw at a mark of 48-4.75 against Holy Cross. Kaplan won the shot put (38-1.5) during that meet.

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