Women's Track & Field Posts Five All-New England Performances

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- The Bridgewater State University women's outdoor track & field team recorded five All-New England performances at the Division III New England Championships hosted by MIT on Friday and Saturday.

The Bears finished tied for 18th in the team standings with 12 points.  MIT won the team title with 180 points followed by Williams College in second (89 pts.) and Tufts University in third (63.5 pts.).

Senior Krysta Zbikowski (Ashburnham, Mass.) and sophomores Sydney Bennett (North Attleboro, Mass.) and Samantha Richner (Hanson, Mass.) placed sixth in their respective events to garner All-New England honors.

Zbikowski posted a time of 11:34.60 in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, while Bennett recoreded a mark of 40 feet, 7.75 inches (12.39 meters) in the shot put and Richner registered a leap of five feet, 2.50 inches (1.59 meters) in the high jump.

Junior Danielle Poto (North Andover, Mass.) earned All-New England accolades in the 10,000-meter run as she placed seventh with a time of 38:01.59.

The foursome of junior Theresa Connolly (North Andover, Mass.), sophomores Kristyn Grattan (Hanover, Mass.) and Sabrina Rizzo (Peabody, Mass.), and freshman Shauntel Farland (Burlington, Mass.) placed seventh in the 4x800-meter relay with a time of 9:46.21 to round out the Bears' All-New England performances.

Next weekend, qualifying members of the women's outdoor track and field team will compete at the NEICAAA Championships also hosted by MIT.