Moroney Paces Owls to First-Place Finish at Jerry Gravel Classic

WESTFIELD, Mass. – Westfield State junior Paige Moroney (Sterling, Mass.) topped the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes to lead the Owls' women's track and field to a first-place team finish at the Jerry Gravel Classic from Westfield, Mass. on Saturday morning and afternoon.

The Owls finished with a total of 166 points to earn the meet victory over Utica College (145 points) and UMass Dartmouth (123.5) which placed second and third out of the six-team field.

Moroney claimed the top spot in the 100-meter dash, posting a time of 12.68 seconds, then followed with another 10-point placement in the 200 by recording a time of 26.25 seconds.

Sophomore Vicky Marin (Greenfield, Mass.) brought home a total of 30 points across four different events for the Owls. She won the long jump by leaping a distance of 5.09 meters, then logged a second-place finish in the 100-meter hurdles (15.92). Marin also collected two third-place marks in the 400-meter hurdles (1:13.05) and the triple jump (10.68m).

As a team, the Owls dominated the 1500m event, placing four of the top five finishers while claiming 31 of 39 possible points in the race. Mia McDonald (Westfield, Mass.) led the pack by placing first with a time of 5:02.65. Following in second and third were sophomore Molly Kennedy (West Springfield, Mass.) and first-year Shea Hamel (Longmeadow, Mass.) with times of 5:03.17 and 5:03.81.

Also earning a top five placement in the 1500 was sophomore Ariann LeCours (Haverhill, Mass.) who finished fifth at a time of 5:08.10. Tealei Chandonnet (Dracut, Mass.) and Grace Poplawski (Rowe, Mass.) also secured points for the Owls as the top eight runners received points in the event.

First-year Eliza Lee (Walpole, Mass.) also posted strong contributions to the Owls overall score after compiling three second-place tallies on the day. She earned second-place distances in the long jump (5.04m) and the triple jump (10.74m) field events before tacking on another second-place finish in the 400m by crossing the tape in 1:02.43.

Other notable finishers for the Owls came from first-years' Brynne LeCours (Haverhill, Mass.) and Emily Ottomaniello (Agawam, Mass.). LeCours placed third in the 800m (2:29.42) with Ottomaniello finishing fourth in the long jump (4.59m) in an event that saw Westfield take three of the top four positions.

Sophomore Rebecca Patel (Belchertown, Mass.) added eight points to the Owls score with a second-place finish in the 5000m with a time of 20:19.64.

In the 4x100 meter relay, the Owls topped the event with Mackenzie Burgoyne (Natick, Mass.), Moroney, Lee, and Ottomaniello completing the race in 51.74 to breeze past Salve Regina who finished in 55.29 seconds.

Westfield State will compete in one more meet before preparing for the MASCAC Championships as the Owls will travel to Hartford, Conn. for the Trinity College Invitational on Saturday, April 22.