Blue Devils Finish URI Coaches Tribute Meet Saturday

The Central Connecticut women's indoor track and field team finished eighth out of ten teams at the URI Coaches Tribute Invitational on Saturday afternoon in Mackal Fieldhouse on the campus of the University of Rhode Island. The Blue Devils scored 32 points in the meet and were led by senior Elizabeth Eberhardt on the track and senior Ronea Saunders in the field.

Eberhardt led the way for the Blue Devils in the 1,000 meter run with a fourth place finish. The senior from Thomaston finished the race in 3:03.09 to earn the finish. Sophomore Brittany Mendelson joined Eberhardt in the event and finished eighth overall with a time of 3:05.74.

Sophomore sprinter Sherise Truman also recorded a fourth place finish, but in the 200 meter dash. Truman ran to a time of 26.15.

In the 400 meter dash, junior Alessandra Salmon placed 15th overall with a time of 1:03.69.

Two Blue Devils competed in the 500 meter run. Junior Chantelle Deer earned a 10th place finish when she came in at the 1:19.68 mark. Sophomore Taylor Boncal finished right behind Deer in 12th place. Boncal crossed the finish line with a time of 1:20.68.

Senior Taylor LePage finished 16th in the 800 meter run with a time of 2:27.04.

In the one mile run, seniors Shannon McBride and Krisztina Dearborn led the way for the Blue Devils. The duo recorded respective finishes of 12th and 13th place. McBride crossed the finish line at 5:16.50 and Dearborn was right on her heels coming in at 5:16.65.

Senior Ronea Saunders picked up the best finish out of any Blue Devil at the URI Coaches Tribute Invitational with a runner-up finish in the high jump. Saunders cleared 1.70 meters to earn the silver medal.

Junior Chelse Terry had an excellent day in the weight throw. The East Hartford product recorded a fourth place finish, throwing to a distance of 15.42 meters. Terry also had the best finish for CCSU in the shot put. She threw the shot 11.31 meters to log an 11th place overall finish.

In the pole vault, sophomore Amanda Kulas cleared 2.70 meters to crack the top-ten and record a ninth place finish.

The distance medley team of Mendelson, LePage, Eberhardt and sophomore Jazmin Booker earned a second place finish in the event with a combined time of 12:24.46.

Rhode Island won the meet with a total score of 134 points in 17 scored events. They were followed by Brown (114), Providence (96), UMass Amherst (80), and Stonehill (54) to round out the top-five. New Hamphire was sixth with 49.50 points followed by Quinnipiac with 36 points. The Blue Devils finsihed eighth with 32 points ahead of American Int'l (29) and Bryant (24).

The Blue Devil women's indoor track and field team will return to Boston University, next weekend, as they continue action at the David Hemery Valentine Invitational on February 13th.