QU Women’s Outdoor Track & Field Advance to Finals of Program Record Four Events at ECAC Championships

Saturday, May 14

Weaver Stadium - Princeton, NJ

All Day

Quinnipiac University

ECAC Championships

QU Women’s Outdoor Track & Field Advance to Finals of Program Record Four Events at ECAC Championships

5/14/2016 11:04:00 PM | Women's Outdoor Track & Field

Shameal Samuels (400m), Kaleigh Roberts (1500m), Carly Timpson (Hammer Throw) and 4x100m Relay All Break Program Records on the Day

By: QU Sports Information

DAY TWO RESULTS

PRINCETON, New Jersey – History was made on Saturday in day two action of the ECAC Championships as the Bobcats advanced to the finals in a program record four events. Not only was the number of finalists a new record but Quinnipiac did so in dominant fashion as four program records fell on the day held on the campus of Princeton University. Through eight scored events, the Bobcats have tallied two points while Cornell leads the field as the Big Red have compiled 25 points.

"It's incredible to see the team continue to excel so late in the season," said Quinnipiac head coach Carolyn Martin. "We try every year to get our runners to peak during the championship season, first in cross country, then in the indoor season and finally in the outdoor. Coming up with these program record times and seeing so many advance to the finals just encapsulates how hard these women work and the total buy-in from every member of the team creates a competition in practice which translates into championship events like today."

Kickstarting the day in grand fashion was senior Shameal Samuels (Hartford, Connecticut) who put on the afterburners in the 400m preliminary, clocking in with a program record time of 53.57 seconds to own the fastest prelim time heading into the finals on Sunday. Samuels bested her previous program record (53.59) as she looks to be in strong position for a second straight NCAA Regional appearance. She was only two sprinters in the field to post a sub-54 second 400m time on Saturday and will look to capture her first career ECAC title.

Kaleigh Roberts (Higganum, Connecticut) made some history on Saturday as she bested a 10-year-old program record with her time of 4:30.03 as she won heat three and will advance to the finals on Sunday with the fifth-fastest preliminary time. The program record time Roberts accomplished on Saturday was no small feat as she bested former All-American Kaitlyn Gwyther's time of 4:30.16 that had stood since May 14, 2005.

The progression of the 4x100m relay team also continued on Saturday as the two-time defending MAAC titlists clocked in with a new program record time of 47.24 seconds while earning a spot in the finals on Sunday. The team of Samuels, Alea Simons (Piscataway, New Jersey), Francine Jacque (Port-au-Prince, Haiti) and Bonnie Pisciotta (Lindenhurst, New York) finished with the fastest time in heat three to earn the automatic spot in the finals of a field that will feature the most talented teams of sprinters the Bobcats have seen all season.

The fourth and final program record to fall on the day came in historical fashion as freshman Carly Timpson (Narragansett, Rhode Island) placed seventh in the hammer throw as she tossed 54.27m to earn two points for the Bobcats in the team standings. The freshman made history, becoming the first Bobcat to place in a field event at the ECAC Championships in program history.

The fourth and final finalist on the day was sophomore Jessica Lee (Montgomery, New Jersey) in the 100m hurdles who has a chance of placing at the ECAC Championships for the first time in her career as she advanced through two stages of preliminary rounds. In the opening round, Lee clocked in with the third-fastest time out of 23 hurdlers as she crossed the line in 14.16 seconds. In the semifinal stage, Lee earned a spot in the finals with her time of 14.17 seconds that stood as the sixth-fastest out of 15 semifinalists.

Two more Bobcats competed on the day as freshman Marlo Wehrer (Pequannock, New Jersey) made a valiant effort in the 400m hurdles as she was the fourth-fastest freshman in the field, earning a 14^th place showing overall out of 28 hurdlers with a time of 1:02.38. Senior Tracy Campbell (Wall Township, New Jersey) also made an appearance in the 1500m preliminaries as she placed 26^th with a time of 4:41.30.

Sunday will feature a program record four Bobcats in the finals of their respective events including Samuels (400m), Roberts (1500m), Lee (100m hurdles) and the 4x100m relay team (Samuels, Simons, Jacque, Pisciotta).