DARTMOUTH, Mass. (4/2/17)- The men's and women's track and field teams opened their outdoor season at UMASS Dartmouth on Sunday, April 2. With the impending weather over the weekend, the meet was postponed from Saturday.
In his outdoor season debut, freshman Tony Liriano (Elmira, N.Y.) launched the shot put 10.57 meters good for a personal best and a new school record. Liriano also threw a personal best in the javelin with a toss of 34.03 meters.
Fellow freshman Alex Desharnais (Kingston, Mass.) joined Liriano in hitting an outdoor personal best in the shot put and discus, while junior Nick Garifalos (Spotswood, N.J.) placed 7th out of more than 50 runners in the 1500m with a time of 4:13.94, lowering the school record in the process. In the 100-meter dash, sophomore Benjamin Lane (Rutland, Vt.) executed a perfect race to place him 7thoverall out of 51 total runners to run a new school record and personal best time of 11.41. The 800 meters featured freshman Matt Holden (Methuen, Mass.) who ran a personal best time, as did freshman Massimo Cugno (Medford, Mass.) in the 200-meter dash.
On the women's side, senior Ayumi Ranucci (Auburn, Maine) ran a season best in the 100-meters with a 13.75 finish. Junior Lauren Lenahan (Weymouth, Mass.) and Freshman Megan Stella (Warren, Mass.) ran personal bests in the 200-meter dash, while the 800 meters saw freshman Stephanie Amato (Westford, Mass.) make her outdoor debut running a personal best of 2:35.66.
Both teams will be back in action next weekend with a double header on Friday and Saturday. The Lasers will be at the Pride Invite hosted at Regis College on April 7, before competing in the Yellow Jacket Invitational at American International College on April 8.