Abrantes, 4x100 Relay Set School Marks at NEICAAA Championships

By Jim Fenton

AMHERST, Mass. -- Four members of the Bridgewater State University women's outdoor track & field team earned individual All-New England Intercollegiate Amateur Athletic Association honors on Saturday.

The Bears' 4x100 relay team broke the school record in the event and also received All-NEICAAA status after placing at the meet, which was held at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

The top eight finishers in each event get All-NEICAAA recognition. The meet includes competitors from all three divisions in New England.

Senior Serenity Sands (East Bridgewater, Mass.), junior Naomi Cass (Westport, Mass.), senior Kiara Abrantes (Somerset, Mass.) and freshman Grace Inacio (Taunton, Mass.) were among the top eight in their respective events.

The 4x100 relay team consisted of graduate student Alison McDonough (Halifax, Mass.), Abrantes, Inacio and graduate student Jailene Escalera (Rockland, Mass.). The foursome placed fifth with a time of 46.97 seconds as they eclipsed the previous school standard of 47.85 seconds set in 2023 (by McDonough, Abrantes, Escalera and Maeve Grosschedl).

Abrantes placed fifth in the 200-meter race in a time of 24.60 seconds as she broke her own school mark of 24.83 seconds set earlier this season at the BSU Bears Invitational.

Inacio placed eighth in the 200 with a time of 25.09 seconds.

Sands, an All-American performer, finished third in the high jump with a career-best leap of five feet, 7.75 inches (1.72m). Sands, who finished fourth in the event a year ago, was just shy of Abbi Peterson's BSU outdoor mark of five feet, eight inches (1.73m) set in 2023.

Cass was third in the 10,000-meter race with a career-best time of 36:03.52. She trailed only Division I runners Jasmine Trott of Bryant University (35:51) and Juliana Cancellieri of Central Connecticut State (35:54.89).

Also competing for BSU were McDonough, who was 10th in the 100 hurdles with a season-best time of 4.23 seconds, and Escalera, who was 15th in the 200 in 25.54 seconds.

The Bears finished in 12th points in the teams standings with 21 points. They were the second among Division III schools behind only Tufts University.

Sands is currently third in all of Division III in the high jump while McDonough is 21st in the 100 hurdles and Cass is 29th in the 10,000. The 4x100 squad is presenty ranked 18th on the national list.

Several members of the BSU outdoor track & field team may compete at the MIT Final Qualifier on Thursday at 4 p.m.