The University of Massachusetts women’s track and field team opened its outdoor season at home on March 28, securing first place in 11 events and earning a total of 15 top-three finishes at the UMass Track & Field Complex.
The strong showing marks a promising start for the Minutewomen as they move into the spring competition schedule. The team’s depth was evident across multiple disciplines, with several athletes achieving personal bests and leading event sweeps.
Anna Todd and Rylee Davis led the day by finishing first and second in the women’s 10,000-meter run with times of 36:05.41 and 36:10.17. In the women’s 1,500-meter run, Lara Mannes Diaz De Cerio finished first in a time of 4:31.10, followed closely by teammates Allison Chmielewski (second), Anna McElhinney (third), Anna Shaw (fourth), Leann Lombardi (fifth), Maia Zatorska (seventh), Simeone Harrison (eighth) and Kaylie Dalgar (ninth).
Other notable performances included Ali Murphy winning the women’s 400 meters in 59.15 seconds; Jillian Strynar taking first place in both the women’s 100-meter dash (12.22 seconds) and leading a sweep of the top four spots in the women’s 200 meters; Jennifer Williams winning gold in both the women’s 100-meter hurdles (14.60 seconds) and placing second in other sprint events; Skylar Fox claiming victory in her debut outdoor meet for the women’s 800 meters; as well as relay success from Fox, Ashley Johnson, Leila Metres, and Murphy who combined to win gold in the women’s four-by-400 meter relay.
In field events, Bridget Lee placed second in long jump while Tolu Odetola won triple jump with a distance of over thirty-nine feet. Mattie Bishop secured second place finishes in shot put while Elizabeth Hopkins won javelin with a throw exceeding one hundred thirty-seven feet.
Looking ahead, UMass will continue its season on April 4 at the UConn Dog Fight meet held in Storrs.
