Penn Relays, Pre-Conference Meet on Deck for ‘Cats

Thursday, April 25

Philadelphia, Pa.

TBA

University of New Hampshire

Penn Relays

Emileigh Glode (Photo by Matthew Troisi)

4/25/2019 2:59:00 PM | Women's Track & Field

Penn Relay Schedule of Events

The final week ahead of conference championships provides one more chance to hit conference marks.

DURHAM, N.H. – The University of New Hampshire women's track and field team, coming off a big weekend at Princeton and Northeastern, heads to the Penn Relays and host the pre-conference meet in a busy week before the America East Championship meet next weekend.

The Wildcats will send two relay teams to compete at the Penn Relays, an annual international relay carnival in its 125^th iteration. UNH athletes will run the sprint medley relay, and the 4x800 relay. In the sprint medley, the Wildcats will mix the relay experience of seniors Jessica Hackett (Dover, N.H.) and Emileigh Glode (Boxborough, Mass.), with newcomers Saige Tudisco (Haverhill, Mass.) and Zakiya Scott (Brooklyn, N.Y.). "In the sprint medley we're running a mix of freshmen and seniors, so it's kind of a fun team to go with some experience and some newcomers." Says head coach Robert Hoppler. The Wildcats will also send a 4x800 team that also includes Glode, along with freshman Lauren Dean (Gilmanton Iron Works, N.H.), junior Madeleine Brandon (Killingworth, Conn.) and junior Michaella Conery (Concord, N.H.). "[The 4x800 team] is essentially the team that ran at ECAC Indoors, and they competed well." Says Hoppler. "We feel like they've all run personal records this spring thus far and we're looking forward to seeing what they can do as a team."

At home this Saturday, the Wildcats will be hosting the pre-conference meet, a last opportunity for conference athletes to improve their seed time and tune up before the conference championship weekend. The events begin at 10:15 AM with the throws, with track events beginning at 1 P.M.

New Hampshire has seen recent success in not only the track events, but specifically the jumps and throws. With javelin throwers like sophomore Lauren Quann (Pictou, Nova Scotia) and junior Natalie Howes (Londonderry, N.H.) stepping up in recent weeks. Junior Alyssa Colbert (Smithfield, R.I.), another javelin thrower, also recently set the school record in the discus throw. "Our javelin throwers have had a fantastic season," says Hoppler. "Without a doubt we feel like we have a number of athletes that have potential to score in championship meets. Quann, Colbert, and Natalie is pretty much amazing coming back from injury last year, to be doing what she's doing this year. They are having a great season and really make it one of our strongest events."
In the jumps, newcomer Tudisco has been starting off her career strong, and the return of senior pole vaulter Sabrina Anderson (Hopewell, N.J.) adds another layer to UNH's successes in the field events. "When we start to look at the jumps, Saige in the long jump and the high jump is coming along as a freshman," says Hoppler. "Although she's sprinting this weekend, she's really started to find her legs in the jumps outdoors; we are certainly excited about Sabrina, her return last weekend she looked strong in the pole vault; as a senior, we're very optimistic about what she could achieve."

MEET INFO:
Penn Relays
Date: Thursday, April 25 to Saturday, April 27
Start Times:

Women's 4x800 – Saturday, 4:30 PM
Women's Sprint Medley – Friday, 6:10 PM

Location: Franklin Field – Philadelphia, Pa.

UNH Pre-Conference Invitational
Date: Saturday, April 27
Start Times: 10:30 A.M. (Field Events) | 1 P.M. (Track Events)
Location: Reggie Atkins Track & Field Facility – Durham, N.H.

LAST TIME OUT:
At the Larry Ellis Invitational, the top finishers for UNH in the meet were junior Meg Champagne (Plattsburgh, N.Y.) and senior Shannon Murdock (Exeter, N.H.), each finishing ninth in their respective events. Champagne took ninth in the 5000 meter run, with a finishing time of 17 minutes, 8.54 seconds, while Murdock competed in the 1500 meter run, taking ninth in 4:22.84.

At Jay Carisella, the 'Cats won the meet with a team score of 216 points, beating out host school Northeastern by 27 points; fellow America East squad Vermont taking third with 120 points. Two Wildcat relay teams took first in the sprints; the team of freshman Alyssa Doust (Marshfield, Mass.), senior Jessica Hackett (Dover, N.H.), sophomore Maria Virga (Derry, N.H.) and freshman Crismeily Borg (Nashua, N.H.) took first in the 4x100 relay, with a finishing time of 49.52 seconds.

In the 4x400, it was the team of junior Elise Renahan (Atkinson, N.H.), Hackett, freshman Zakiya Scott (Brooklyn, N.Y.) and senior Emileigh Glode (Boxborough, Mass.) taking first with a time of 4:04.84.

The third event win for UNH in the meet was in the javelin throw; sophomore Lauren Quann (Pictou, Nova Scotia) took first with a throw of 134 feet, 1 inch, a new personal best. The runner up in the javelin was junior Natalie Howes (Londonderry, N.H.) with a distance of 119'6".

FROM THE COACH:
More on the throwers…
"Alyssa has done great in the discus, and when you add in Sarah [Williams] to that and the shot put, suddenly our throwers are coming along, and really becoming one of the strong parts of our team. When we've had great track teams on the women's side, our throwers have been important parts of those teams, a really crucial part of those teams."
-Head Coach Robert Hoppler.

On the team's progression in the outdoor season…
"I feel like we've progressed well as the season has gone on, a lot of people have thrown or jumped or ran personal bests, and we're certainly a better team now in April than we were in March. Across the board, what we're looking for is that last tune up and that last competitive opportunity to be ready for the championship season."
-Head Coach Robert Hoppler

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