DEDHAM, Mass.  -- Records are made to be broken. Some just hold up longer than others.

In the final meet of her career, senior Wendie Stewart  (Hartford) closed out her assault on former Eastern All-America and Olympian Bonnie Edmondson's 39-year-old  outdoor shot put record of 42-9 with a record-breaking throw on the second day of the New England Open Championships Saturday at Northeastern University's Solomon Track & Field Facility.
 
After moving to within seven inches of Edmondson's 1984 record in winning the event at the Warrior Invitational April 21, the 22-year-old native of Clarendon, Jamaica concluded her career with the record she cherished breaking the most with a throw of 42-11 ¾ inches that gave her fifth place in a field of 23 competitors and a spot on the All-New England Team. Competitors from all three divisions are involved in the championship.
 
The record throw came on the third of her six attempts in the competition, with her final five all reaching 40 feet or better. Stewart finished first among four Little East Conference competitors in the event and first among all Division III in the meet, ahead of LEC sophomore champion Zoe Barnes of the University of Southern Maine.
 
The All-New England laurel is the second in the shot this year for Stewart – first outdoors -- who threw an indoor PR of 40-5 ½ at the New England Division III Championships at New Balance in Boston that was good enough for third among 22 participants. Last weekend at the New England Division III Championships at Springfield College, Stewart was 12^th with a mark of 38-7 3/5.
 
After earning All-New England recognition last weekend with a sixth-place finish in the discus (126-5), Stewart placed 20^th Saturday in that event with a throw of 122-10.
 
On the men's side this weekend, four Eastern athletes competed: senior Ryan Escoda (Newtown) was 15^th in the 3000 meter steeplechase (9:48.11), junior Aidan Hennessy (Granby) 14^th in the triple jump (42-10 ¼),  junior Kaito Yasuda (Columbia) 13^th at 200 meters (22.46) and 17^th at 100 meters (11.06), and sophomore Adam Schimmelpfennig (Pomfret) 25^th in the 100 meter hurdles (15.62). Neither Yasuda nor Schimmelpfenning qualified for the finals of their respective events.
 
Graduate student Tyler Wright (Westport) qualified for the competition but was unable to compete due to injury. Escoda holds the program record in the steeplechase and Schimmelpfennig the 110 hurdles record.