Wildcats Look to Ride Momentum into the Outdoor Season

Friday, March 30

Raleigh, NC

University of New Hampshire

Raleigh Relays

3/29/2018 1:20:00 PM | Men's Track & Field, Track and Field, Women's Track & Field

DURHAM, N.H. – Following a stellar indoor track and field season that saw two competitors qualify for the NCAA Championship, and return with three All-American accolades and an individual national title, the University of New Hampshire track and field team continues the 2018 season at the end of March as the outdoor season begins.

The Wildcats look to improve on an excellent 2017 outdoor season where the women's team finished as America East runner-up, and the men's team placed third at the season-ending conference meet.

WEEKEND PREVIEW: THE RALEIGH RELAYS
UNH begins the outdoor season in Raleigh, N.C. at the Raleigh Relays hosted by NC State on Friday, March 30 and Saturday, March 31. The Wildcats return to the Raleigh Relays for the first time since the 2016 outdoor season. Events begin Friday afternoon at 12 PM and run through Saturday with the final event beginning at 4:20 P.M.

A handful of Wildcats will be making the trip to Raleigh, with the majority being throwers. The men's team has seven throwers slated to compete:

- Nicholas Ritzo (Rye, N.H.) and Zachary Astle (Newbury, N.H.) will compete in the shot put and the discus.
- Michael Shanahan (Dover, N.H.) is slated to compete in the discus and the hammer.
- Cullen Aubin (Warwick, R.I.), Edward Speidel (Dover, N.H.), Eric Brogioli (Milford, Mass.) and Jon Chapman (Newport, R.I.) will all participate in the hammer.

Emily Wernig (Gilford, N.H.) is set to compete in the discus and the hammer this coming weekend for the women's team, as well as Meg Champagne (Plattsburgh, N.Y.) is slated to compete in the 5000m.

THE HOME OPENER – HOLY CROSS & MAINE – APRIL 7
The Wildcats return home to the Reggie Atkins Track & Field Facility for the first time since they hosted the 2017 Outdoor America East Championships. The Wildcats are slated to have two home meets this season, the same number of regular season meets they had season; the women's track and field team took first in those two regular season home meets, the men's team took second.

THE SEASON RUNDOWN
Right before the home opener, the Wildcats will travel to the annual Colonial Relays hosted by William and Mary. The Colonial Relays run from April 5 to April 7. After the home opener the Wildcats compete in the Providence Invitational on Friday, April 13, before returning home to face UMass Lowell and Merrimack in a home meet on Saturday the 14^th.

After their home stretch the 'Cats will go on the road until championship season; on the weekend of April 20 and 21, the Wildcats compete at the Larry Ellis Invitational in Prineton, N.J. on Friday and the UMass Lowell Invitational on Saturday. The following weekend brings the Penn Relays running from April 25 to 28, and a pre-conference meet hosted in Amherst, Mass. by UMass that Saturday the 28^th.

Championship season begins in May with the America East Outdoor Championships on May 5 and 6, hosted by UMBC in Baltimore, Md. The entire regular season will be building towards success in the conference meet, which is the team's goal every season.

Following the all-important conference meet will be the New England Championships hosted by Dartmouth Friday and Saturday May 11 and 12. New England schools of every level will gather in Hanover to compete. That weekend also holds the ECAC/IC4A Outdoor Championships hosted in Princeton, N.J.

The Wildcats then take a week break for graduation, before the NCAA Regional meet in Tampa, Florida. The top qualifying Wildcats will travel to Florida for the regional meet going from May 24 to 26, with a spot at the NCAA Outdoor Championships on the line. Those who qualify past the regional will travel to Eugene, Oregon for the 2018 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championship meet running June 6 to 9.

ATHLETES TO WATCH

Senior runner Elinor Purrier (Montgomery, Vt.), coming off her first NCAA Individual Championship in the indoor mile, will look to add even more to her legacy this outdoor season as she competes in the steeple chase and 1500m. In previous seasons Purrier qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championships in the steeple chase.
Grad student Michael Shanahan (Dover, N.H.) comes into the outdoor season after winning his fourth America East championship and earning his first All-American First Team honor at the NCAA Indoors in the weight throw. Shanahan will finish off his UNH throwing career in the 2018 outdoor season looking to advance past the NCAA Outdoor Regional round for the first time in his career.
Another thrower from the men's team, sophomore Zachary Astle (Newbury, N.H.) returns to the throws after earning his first America East individual championship in the shot put this past outdoor season.
Five-time America East champ Danielle Gajewski (Danville, N.H.) returns to the track after scoring in the top three in two America East championship events in the indoor season. Gajewski last season tok America East gold in the 4x800.
In multiple events, look for Emma Checovich (North Hampton, N.H.) to stand out in the hurdles and jumps. Checovich has reached the conference podiums on four occasions in her career, but is still looking for her first gold.
The strong collection of throwers for the UNH men's team will look to continue domination in the outdoor season. The America East podium in the 2018 weight throw saw Shanahan, Eric Brogioli (Milford, Mass.) Edward Speidel (Dover, N.H.), Jon Chapman (Newport, R.I.) and Astle, and the shot put podium saw three Wildcats, Astle, Nicholas Ritzo (Rye, N.H.), Shanahan.
Other track standouts from the women's team include scorers in the America East Indoor 500m, Elise Renahan (Atkinson, N.H.) and Jessica Hackett (Dover, N.H.), who finished fifth and sixth respectively.
In the heptathlon, defending America East Indoor champ Joel Nkounkou (Dover, N.H.) is back at it this outdoor season after claiming his first America East track championship with a heptathlon score of 5065, taking first in the shot put and long jump and finishing top 5 in every heptathlon event. He then went on to break the school record at the ECAC/IC4As with a third place finishing score of 5146.
The trio of high jumpers Rachel Morrison (Westwood, Mass.), Shelby Strickland (Kennebunk, Maine) and Tessa Artruc (Livonia, N.Y.) look to continue climbing after all three scored in the event in the indoor championships. While Morrison and Strickland focus on the high jump, Artruc has also seen action in track events in previous seasons.

THE BOWERMAN
After winning her first national title and collecting two more All-American honors, senior Elinor Purrier (Montgomery, Vt.) remains on the watch list for The Bowerman, track and field's most prestigious collegiate honor. Purrier is one of 10 female athletes in the running for the award.

Awarded annually by the USTFCCCA, The Bowerman race goes through both the indoor and outdoor track and field seasons, with the semifinalists being announced June 13 and 14, and the finalists being named June 20 and 21. The award will be presented at the USTFCCCA convention in December.

RANKED IN THE NATION
In the indoor season, both Elinor Purrier and Michael Shanahan were ranked in the nation for their performances in their respective events this season. Shanahan climbed as high as third in the country in the weight throw, while Purrier claimed a spot in the top 10 in the mile, the 3000m, and the 800m throughout the indoor season.