Women's Track & Field Captures Jerry Gravel Classic Title

WESTFIELD, Mass. -- The Bridgewater State University women's outdoor track & field team captured the meet title at the Jerry Gravel Classic hosted by Westfield State University on Saturday.

The Bears registered 170 team points as they easily outdistanced second place Utica University (100.5 pts.).

Bridgewater won six events at the meet.

Junior Alison McDonough (Halifax, Mass.) captured top honors in the long jump with a career-best leap of 17 feet, 5.5 inches (5.32m), while freshman Tristen Gomes (Middleboro, Mass.) placed first in the triple jump with a career-best mark of 34 feet, 10.5 inches (10.63m).

Junior Abbi Peterson (Watertown, Mass.) won the high jump with a leap of five feet, 3.75 inches (1.62m), and senior Camille Hanna (Milton, Vt.) vaulted her way to the top of the pole vaule with a height of nine feet, 2.25 inches (2.80m). Graduate student Jayci Andrews (Plymouth, Mass.) rounded out the Bears' individual event winners with a season-best time of 14.26 seconds in the 100-meter hurdles. Andrews is currently ranked sixth in all of Division III in the 100 hurdles.

The foursome of McDonough, junior Jailene Escalera (Rockland, Mass.), freshman Kiara Abrantes (Somerset, Mass.) and junior Madison Ashley (Freetown, Mass.) placed first in the 4x100-meter relay with a time of 48.98 seconds.

McDonough also finished third in both the 100-meter dash (12.61) and the 100-meter hurdles (14.81) as she recorded career best times in each event.

Escalera added a second-place performance in the long jump (16'3"/4.95m), while Ashley finished third in the 200-meter dash (26.15) and Abrantes placed third in the 400-meter dash (1:01.57). Ashley's time in the 200 marked a career best.

Sophomore Serenity Sands (East Bridgewater, Mass.) placed second in the high jump (5'3.75"/1.62m), while classmates Maura Bruns (Franklin, Mass.) and Samila Adilas (Randolph, Mass.) also finished second in their respective events. Bruns recorded a career-best time of 19:56.19 in the 5,000-meter run, while Adilas posted a career-best time of 1:11.28 in the 400-meter hurdles.

Senior Ashley Garvey (Woburn, Mass.) rounded out the Bears' top-three placewinners as she finished third in the discus throw with a distance of 110 feet (33.54m).

The BSU outdoor track & field teams will compete next Friday at the 13th Annual Eastern Invitational hosted by Eastern Connecticut State University.