(04-18-09) SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - The University of New Haven men's and women's track and field teams finished in fifth place at the Springfield Invitational in Massachusetts. Kevin Downing and Shannon Gagne each swept the 100 meter, 200 meter and 400 meter dashes at the meet to lead their respective teams.
On the women's side, three Chargers led the way in the top five of the 100 meter dash, including Gagne's win. Alesha Chu Foo finished in third place with a time of 13.01 and LaShawn Tillery 13:09. Gagne won the 200 meter with a time of 24.63 and provisionally qualified for the NCAA Championships. She also provisionally qualified in the 400 meter dash with a time of 56.67 seconds. Lauren DiMitruck ran a UNH best time of 5:02.80 in the 1500 meter run, while Melissa Tempesta finished third in the 3000 meter steeplechase. Dimitruck also ran a UNH record of 2:27.65 in the 800 meter run. Angela Colandrea broke her previous UNH record in the 400 meter hurdles with a time of 1:10.35.
The Charger men were led by Downing with a time of 10.73 in the 100 meter finals. The freshman also ran a time of 21.26 in the 200 meter finals for the win and 48.69 seconds in the 400 meter. Michael Renna finished fourth in the shot put with a distance of 13.15 meters. Tyler Parker finished third in the high jump with a height of 1.76 meters. The Chargers 4x100 meter relay team (Downing, Tyrone Sawyer, Sylvester Maldonado and Jelani Joslyn) finished second with a time of 42.71 seconds.
The Chargers return to action next week when they travel to Penn Relays in Philadelphia. The relays start on Thursday, April 23 and finish on Saturday, April 25.
Complete Results - Men
Complete Results - Women
