Women’s track and field finds stride at Corsair Classic: Buban gets first place in 10K

Adrien Gobin / THE GATEPOST

By Sophia Oppedisano Sports Editor The Framingham State women’s track and field team opened their season with phenomenal performances at UMass Dartmouth’s Corsair Classic meet March 29. Overall, the team tied for 10th place out of 14 teams with Fitchburg State University, but the Rams had several star showings from both runners and players in the field. Sophomore standout Kate Buban finished in first place in the 10K race with a time of 39:38.17. Buban is coming off an impressive 2024 season with the women’s cross country team, which included being named MASCAC Runner of the Week Sept. 10. The honor came for Buban after a solid performance at the University of Hartford Invitational Sept. 7 in which she came in ninth place in the 3K race with a time of 12:02.6. The field at the invitational was made up of Division II and III runners - Buban was the second DIII finisher in the race. Buban said coming off her cross country season, she feels stronger. “I think I've found the balance between training high mileage and fueling and sleeping, and it’s all interconnecting,” she said. Buban said her training schedule typically consists of anywhere from 50 to 60 miles per week. “I got to some 70-mile weeks over break,” she added. Her grueling schedule is hopefully going to lead to her successfully breaking the school record in the 10K, which Buban said is her ultimate goal for this season. With her time at the Corsair Classic, Buban is already only about 15 seconds off from breaking the 10K record of 39:23, which was set in 2023 by Casey McAuliffe, class of ’23. Buban’s performance in the 10K gave her a new personal record in the event and qualified her for both the MASCAC Championships and the DIII New England Regionals Championships, both of which will be held at the end of the season. Head Coach Mark Johnson said Buban is only the fourth track athlete in program history to individually qualify for the Regional Championships. “I was super excited to see Kate’s performance on Saturday! Day in and day out, Kate has truly been putting in the time and effort, so it was great to see her hard work pay off. … Her dedication and focus on continuous improvement have definitely helped set a standard for the team,” Johnson said. Along with Buban, sophomore Jamie Moniz gave an exceptional first performance of the season. Moniz competed in the field in javelin, where she took seventh place out of 32 for her throw of 31.29 meters. Moniz also competed in the triple jump, where she finished eighth out of 12 for her jump of 9.65 meters. Her performance in both events qualified her for the MASCAC Championships. Moniz had a strong showing during her freshman season with the track and field program in 2024. She won the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 1:10.35 at the MASCAC Championships April 26 and added to her stellar performance with a third-place finish in the javelin, a seventh-place finish in the high jump, and a fourth-place finish in the triple jump. She capped her rookie season by being the only member of her team to be named to the MASCAC All-Conference Team. Veteran talent also shined in the field for the Rams as Captain Alyssa Caputo and Kaylee Beck, both seniors, competed in the shot put, discus, and hammer throw. The duo had their best showing in shot put as Alyssa Caputo’s toss of 10.64 meters and Beck’s 10.14 meter toss solidified their sixth and seventh place finishes, respectively out of 30 competitors. Alyssa Caputo took a fifth-place finish in discus with a 31.32 meter throw, and she and Beck placed 15th and 17th, respectively, out of 30 competitors in the hammer throw. Beck, who was also a member of the Framingham State field hockey team, and has been participating in track and field since she was in eighth grade, said this season feels “bittersweet” for her. “It's kind of this weird, mixed feeling of excitement and nerves because this is really my last shot to complete the goals I want to complete,” she said. This season, Beck wants to qualify for the Regional Championships for the hammer throw. Beck said this is “a hard goal, but can be obtainable if I don't let my nerves get the best of me within meets.” Alyssa Caputo’s and Beck’s performances qualified them both for the shot put, discus, and hammer throw at the MASCAC Championships. “I hit qualifying for MASCACs in all my events, which I'm so grateful and blessed to have done - but personally, I know I could have done better, and I'm excited to go into the meet on Friday. It's going to be really good weather, and we've been practicing really hard this week, so I'm excited to see what I can do, and I just hope my nerves don't get the best of me,” Beck said. Back on the track, Captain Meghan Johnston, a junior, qualified for the 1,500 meters at the MASCAC Championships with her 13th-place finish and a 5:15.03 finish time against 46 other competitors. The 1,500 meters was also successful for junior Sarah Campbell, whose 36th-place finish and a time of 5:59.53 qualified her for the MASCAC Championships. Freshman star Grace Avery also qualified for the MASCAC Championships for the 1,500 meters and her javelin throw. Avery is coming off a very successful rookie season with the women’s cross country team as she was named MASCAC Rookie of the Week three times. She placed 26th out of 47 competitors in the 1,500 meters and set a new personal record with her time of 5:32.69. Two of Avery’s freshman counterparts, Amy and Alyssa Tansek, competed on both track and field and set personal records for themselves in their respective events of shot put and discus. Additionally, they both set personal records for their performances in the 100 meters with 33rd- and 38th-place finishes, respectively. Junior Tarynn Smith also set a personal record for her performance in the 100 meters. Sophomore talent Lydia Marunowski, a captain, and Melissa Romeiro both set personal records in their respective events of the 200 meters and the 100 meters. Natalie Grimaldo, also a sophomore, finished fifth out of 11 competitors in the 400 meter hurdles with a time of 1:11.88. Other MASCAC Championships qualifiers include sophomore Cassandra Toth for her performance in the 400 meters, sophomore Camille Graffeo for the 1,500 meters, and freshman Ashley Caputo for both shot put and discus. With the blend of veterans and young talent, Buban said the team is close-knit and even gets together for a team dinner each night on campus. Beck said, “It's so amazing to watch the younger talent walk through the door and see what they're capable of and being able to help them with their form or even with their mentality and their attitude is so important to me. I love being there to help others and create connections with those younger teammates.” Johnson said this is the most dynamic squad “in team history” in terms of having an even number of athletes in each event group. “We’ve always historically been a track team of distance runners, with a side of other events, so it’s been fun and exciting filling out our team more. He said the team has had a very positive presence “with athletes supporting each other across event groups, while working toward their individual goals. “The bond and chemistry the team has this season, in my eyes, is one of the strongest we’ve had in my time here,” he added. The Rams are hoping to bring their early success into their next contests at the Regis Spring Classic April 4 and Fitchburg State’s Jim Sheehan Invitational April 5. “It's been a great week of training, so I’m just excited to see everyone go, hopefully have a school record or two fall, and get a few more MASCAC qualifiers,” Johnson said.