Track and Field Competes At Springfield

RESULTS

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. -- The Babson College track and field teams enjoyed another stellar day at the Springfield Invitational on Saturday, as the Beavers broke four more school records and had four more qualifications for the NCAA New England Championships. Both teams placed 10th overall at the competition.

For the women, first-year Nicki Wurdeman (Rowley, Mass.) placed third in both the discus and shot put, including a school record and NCAA Regional qualifying toss of 35 feet, 4 3/4 inches in the latter. The rookie star has now set new school marks and earned a trip to the regional championships in both events. Also qualifying for New Englands were sophomore Larina Kleynerman (Sudbury, Mass.), who placed 10th overall in the 100 meter dash with a time of 13.36, and junior captain Katie Trant (Westfield, Mass.), who finished fourth and matched her personal record by clearing 4 feet, 11 inches in the high jump. It marked the second consecutive NCAA Regional qualification for Kleynerman and the third straight for Trant.

Also performing well for the women were first-year Michelle Black (San Diego, Calif.), who eastablished new PRs in both the 800 (2:33.15) and 1500 (5:15.99) meter runs, and junior captain Lauren Blackburn (York, Maine), who placed sixth in the 100 meter hurdles with a time of 16.71 - her fastest effort of the season - while also finishing third in the 400 hurdles. Black and Blackburn also joined first-years Colleen Carr (Brewer, Maine) and Alexa Untermann (Honolulu, Hawaii) in the 4x400 meter relay, where the quartet posted a sixth-place finish with a magnifcient time of 4:21.11 - shattering the previous school record by over four and a half seconds.

On the men's side of the meet, first-year Justin Bowman (Plymouth, Mass.) turned in yet another outstanding performance in the 800 meter run, as he placed fourth, set a new Babson record, and qualified for the NCAA Division III New England Championships with a time of 1:57.76. Fellow first-year Varun Bhandari (Andover, Mass.) added a strong effort in the 200 meter dash, where he rebroke his own school mark with a time of 23.42 seconds, while he and junior Charlie Brown (Bronx, N.Y.) posted brilliant times of 11.54 and 11.58, respectively, in the 100 meter dash.

Sophomore Chris Freney (Vernon, Conn.) added more than three feet to his personal best in the discus, placing 11th overall with a throw of 113 feet, 1 inch, while sophomore Jordan Bray (Henderson, Nev.) and Jared Bartlett (Penfield, N.Y.) both posted huge PRs in the 1500 meter run.