UNH Heads to Terrier Invitational, Hosts Vermont and Maine this Weekend

Friday, January 25

Boston, Mass.

12 PM

University of New Hampshire

John Thomas Terrier Invitational

Dani Gajewski (Photo by Jess Speechly)

UNH Heads to Terrier Invitational, Hosts Vermont and Maine this Weekend

1/24/2019 3:10:00 PM | Women's Track & Field

A pair of New England meets on deck for the Wildcats.

DURHAM, N.H. – The University of New Hampshire women's track & field team continues its 2019 indoor season with a pair of meets in Boston and at home in Durham.

The Wildcats will send four runners down to the John Thomas Terrier Invitational hosted by Boston University this weekend; events are scheduled to start at 12 P.M. on Friday, January 25.

Representing New Hampshire at this year's Terrier Invitational will be fifth-year senior Danielle Gajewski (Danville, N.H.) in the 800 meter run, senior Shannon Murdock (Exeter, N.H.) in the mile, junior Meg Champagne (Plattsburgh, N.Y.) in the 5000m, and sophomore Cayla Barretto (Woburn, Mass.) in the 1000m.

The rest of the UNH squad will face off with Vermont and Maine in a tri-meet at the Paul Sweet Oval, beginning Saturday morning, January 26 at 11 A.M. Dartmouth will also be represented in the meet with throwing athletes traveling in from Hanover.

MEET INFO – John Thomas Terrier Invitational
Date: Jan. 25, 2019
Start Time: 1 P.M.
Location: Boston University Track & Tennis Center – Boston, Mass.

MEET INFO – Home Tri-Meet
Date: Jan. 26, 2019
Start Time: 11 A.M.
Location: Paul Sweet Oval – Durham, N.H.

UP NEXT:
Next weekend the Wildcats head back to Boston for the 2018-19 New England Indoor Championships, hosted at Northeastern University from Friday, February 1 to Saturday, February 2.

LAST TIME OUT:
The Wildcats were just edged out by the Holy Cross Crusaders in the team score in their home dual meet last weekend, 222-199.

The Wildcats got strong performances from all over the meet, highlighted by runners Meg Champagne (Plattsburgh, N.Y.), Danielle Gajewski (Danville, N.H.) and Shannon Murdock (Exeter, N.H.) with first-place finishes in the mile, the 500 meter run, and the 800 meter run.

Champagne took first in the mile with a time of 5 minutes, 5.45 seconds, just missing her personal best by 4 seconds; it was a one-two finish in the mile with Cayla Barretto (Woburn, Mass.) following close behind with a time of 5:07.14. It was another one-two finish in the 800 meter run as Murdock took first with a time of 2:15.15 and Michaela Conery (Concord, N.H.) took second in 2:22.43.

In the 500m run, Gajewski took first in 1:17.24, just three seconds over her personal best in the event. In the 400 meter run, two Wildcats took the top two spots; Elise Renahan (Atkinson, N.H.) and Jessica Hackett (Dover, N.H.) took first and second in 1:00.49 and 1:01.02, respectively.

Newcomer Saige TuDisco (Haverhill, Mass.) took first in the high jump with a height of 5 feet, 5.25 inches, which sets a new personal best in the event. She also scored in the 55 meter hurdles, finishing third in 8.74 seconds.

FROM THE COACH:
On the Terrier Invitational "Traditionally we have brought some people down to the Terrier to try to give them the opportunity to try and run in high level competition. If we look at Shannon [Murdock], Dani [Gajewski], Meg [Champagne], and Cayla [Barretto], they've all either won conference championships or New England championships and we feel that we want to use this meet as a springboard to continued success at that level. So we're giving them an opportunity to go down there and mix it up with some high-level competition."

Head Coach Robert Hoppler

On the home tri-meet: "These meets are all about competing in head-to-head competition; learning how to win your event. The rest of the team [not in Boston] has the opportunity to do that at home."