UMass Boston Women’s Track and Field team had some pretty good outings this year, and the Cupid Challenge at Tufts University was no exception. The team put up some solid performances Feb. 2 and 3 as they continue to improve throughout the season. The sprints are where the Beacons shined brightest, with Hialeah Foster and Aryianna Garceau leading the way.
According to Harrier Race Management, Foster clocked in a time of 8.46 seconds in the women’s 60-meter prelims. This was good enough for 21st place out of 42 participants, a decent placement for the freshman. Sparks really flew at the women’s 60m hurdles as Garceau put on an absolutely stellar performance. She clocked in at an official time of 9.07 seconds, giving her fourth place out of 18 competitors [1].
Garceau’s mark was not only enough to land a spot in the final eight, but also to break her own personal record of 9.29 seconds with a huge jump, according to Beacons Athletics. In the finals, Garceau finished in 9.11 seconds and took third place overall, which made her the highest-placing Beacon of the weekend [2]. Delaney Sartwell also partook in the women’s 60m hurdles, clocking in a time of 13.24 seconds [1].
The Beacons also had several representatives in the distance events. Harleen Bassan took part in the women’s 400-meter, where she would cross the finish line at one minute and 9.93 seconds. Following her was Amiya Sharp, who ran in the women’s 800m and crossed with a time of three minutes and 7.43 seconds [1].
There were two representatives for the Beacons in the women’s mile run, juniors Grace Colon and Sarah Campbell. Colon completed the race in five minutes and 47.23 seconds. Campbell finished after Colon with a time of six minutes and 17.46 seconds. These two times were good enough for 24th place and 37th place out of 42 participants, respectively [1].
Foster took the field once again for her second event, the women’s long jump. She was the only Beacon athlete to represent women’s track and field in any of the jump events at the Cupid Challenge, and she gave the Beacons a good name in doing so. Foster’s jump measured in at a distance of 4.88 meters. She placed 14th out of 29 competitors, a pretty decent position [1].
The throwing events would close things out, where Cayla Jean-Louis and Abigail Schell took the field for the first time. Jean-Louis participated in both the women’s shot put and women’s weight throw. Her results for the shot put was 8.55 meters, the weight throw 8.58 meters. Schell only partook in the weight throw, where her attempt measured in at 8.58 meters, the same as Jean-Louis [1].
A promising weekend comes to a close with some memorable performances—specifically in the sprinting and jumping department—with Garceau and Foster having a standout weekend each. According to Beacons Athletics, the Beacons have one more meet this season, in which they’ll take a trip to Cambridge, Mass. on Feb. 17 to close out their season at Massachusetts Institute of Technology [3].
Although the Beacons haven’t been dominating other schools this year, there have certainly been plenty of positives to come out of the season. None of the Cupid Challenge’s participants are seniors, so chances are that most, if not all, of them will be back for another year of track [1]. The improvements they’ve shown gradually over the course of the year are nothing to push aside, either. With a lot of Beacons proving themselves as spectacular performers, there’s no debate that the signs of them soon taking a great leap in production are clear as day. Fans have seen a lot of promise come out of the women’s track and field team this year, and the only thing left to do is finish the year strong.
Sources:
- https://live.harrierrace.com/meets/29928/teams/752675
- https://beaconsathletics.com/news/2024/2/5/womens-track-and-field-garceau-shatters-her-own-60m-hurdles-record-as-the-beacons-compete-from-cupid-challenge.aspx
- https://beaconsathletics.com/sports/womens-track-and-field/schedule