Women’s track and field thrives in two-meet weekend

Adrien Gobin / THE GATEPOST

By Kyra Tolley Asst. Sports Editor The Framingham State women’s track and field team placed second out of 17 teams at the Regis Spring Classic April 4 and eighth out of 14 teams at the Jim Sheehan Invitational at Fitchburg State April 5. The two meets brought the team major success as five school records were broken, 21 personal bests were recorded, and 15 women qualified for the MASCAC Championships. Head Coach Mark Johnson said the meets went incredibly well and the Regis meet “was one of the strongest meets that we've had as a program, just across the board.” At the Spring Classic, sophomore Kate Buban broke the school record for the 5K with her time of 18:59.33, beating the previous record holder’s time by 18 seconds. This performance landed her a second-place finish out of nine competitors. She was just shy of first place by 0.28 seconds. Buban said after crossing the finish line for the 5K, she was eager to find out if her time was under 19 minutes and that she is excited and hopeful to break the 10K school record at the MASCAC Championships.

Izabela Gage / THE GATEPOST

Sophomore Cassandra Toth broke the school record for the 400-meter dash - which she already held. She finished in 10th place out of 17 with a time of 1:04.41. Toth said, “I am incredibly grateful to have been able to do it, and I hope to continue to drop even more time.” A 4.44 meter long jump by sophomore Jamie Moniz landed her in 13th place out of 24 while also breaking the school record. The Rams debuted a sprint medley team, who came in fourth place out of seven teams. Toth, sophomore Natalie Grimaldo, freshman Stella D’Ambrosio, and Captain Meghan Johnston, a junior, collectively ran the race in 4:40.34. The 4x400 meter relay team placed first out of three teams. Moniz, sophomores Justinne Quinanola and Norah Russell, and freshman Grace Avery produced a time of 4:47.99 in the event. Avery also competed in the steeplechase, coming in third out of six with a time of 13:20.88. She said, “A lot of the race is mental, especially with the barriers and the water jump, but I embraced the challenge. “During the second half, my body kicked into autopilot. It was all about trusting my training,” Avery said. The performances of Framingham’s leading throwers, Captain Alyssa Caputo, a senior, freshman Ashley Caputo, senior Kaylee Beck, and Moniz, were instrumental in the team’s impressive overall score of 76, accounting for 36 of the team’s total points. Alyssa Caputo qualified for the DIII New England Championships for her first-place discus throw that reached 35.44 meters. She beat 42 competitors to take the top spot. Her throwing prowess continued in the shot put, where she placed second out of 47 competitors with an 11.19 meter throw. Alyssa Caputo said her goal this season is to make it to the NCAA Regional Championships for shot put, only having to throw it 0.01 meters further than her attempt at Regis to qualify. She said, “I felt like Regis was a true testament to what I can do because it was a wicked nice day out, and I actually felt good. … I was actually really proud of that.” Beck’s best throw of the weekend was her 10.75 meter toss in the shot put at Regis, in which she placed third. Ashley Caputo placed fourth out of 43 in the discus with a 29.14 meter throw. Moniz earned the team 8 points with her javelin throw, coming in second place out of 22 competitors. The throw reached 31.13 meters. At the Jim Sheehan Invitational, Moniz recorded a time of 20.29 in the 100-meter hurdles, establishing a new record for Framingham. Johnson said, “It was great to just see the team is thriving right now, and I hope we keep pushing as we head to the championship season.” The team’s next meet is the Ed Daniels Invitational in Manchester, New Hampshire April 12.