Women's Indoor Track & Field Captures MASCAC Title

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- The Bridgewater State University women's indoor track & field team captured their second straight Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) title as the Bears competed at the MASCAC/New England Alliance Championships held on Saturday at Providence Career & Technical High School.

The Bears posted a score of 194 points in the MASCAC results to finish well ahead of runner-up Westfield State Univesity (149 pts.).

BSU also finished in third place in the New England Alliance standings with 95 points trailing only Alliance Champion University of Southern Maine (152 pts.) and Keene State College (116 pts.).

Sophomore Samantha Richner (Hanson, Mass.) captured both the MASCAC and Alliance individual titles, and broke her own school record in the high jump with a leap of five feet, 5.25 inches (1.66 meters). Richner currently ranks 19th in all of Division III in the event.

Junior Ariele Krevosky (Oxford, Mass.) garnered top MASCAC honors in the triple jump with a mark of 35 feet, 4.75 inches (10.79 meters). Krevosky also placed second among MASCAC competitors in the long jump (16'8.75"/5.10m), high jump (5'1.25"/1.56m) and 60-meter hurdles (9.37).

Senior Krysta Zbikowski (Ashburnham, Mass.) sophomore Abbie Pustis (Andover, Mass.) rounded out the Bears' MASCAC individual champions.  Zbikowski posted a time of 19:36.62 in the 5,000-meter run, while Pustis recorded a time of 1:00.88 in the 400-meter dash.

BSU's 4x800-meter relay and 4x400-meter relay squads also captured MASCAC titles.

Juniors Theresa Connolly (North Andover, Mass.) and Samantha Pinkham (Hingham, Mass.), sophomore Sabrina Rizzo (Peabody, Mass.) and freshman Shauntel Farland (Burlington, Mass.) posted a time of 10:15.62 in the 4x800.

Pustis, fellow sophomores Amanda Lane (Abington, Mass.) and Traci Perry (Middleboro, Mass.), and senior Ashley Aldred (Saugus, Mass.) recorded a time of 4:12.75 in the 4x400. The foursome also finished second in the MASCAC results in the 4x200-meter relay (1:47.84), while Lane added a second place showing in the 400-meter dash (1:01.63).

Connolly also placed second in the mile run (5:35.25) and the 1,000-meter run (3:11.96), while Rizzo finished second in the 600-meter run (1:45.31) and Farland placed second in the 800-meter run (2:28.89).

Next weekend, qualifying members of the BSU indoor track & field teams will compete at the Division III New England Championships hosted by Smith College.