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Ali LeClerc

Women's Track & Field: Five Win Titles for Warriors, Who Push USM and Finish 2nd

Frisch sets championship and program record in PV

NOTABLE
* The Warriors fell shy of winning their first LEC Outdoor Championships title, placing second for the fourth straight year behind 24-time titlist Southern Maine at the event hosted each of those years by UMass Dartmouth. Since placing fifth or sixth for five straight years, Eastern has finished third or higher in each of the past six years (five times taking second).

* A total of three Top 10 marks in the Mideast Region were recorded: Natasha Frisch (t-1st) in the pole vault, Kate Malczynski-Griffin (6th) in the javelin (116-9) and Laci Davis (8th) in the triple jump (36-3 1/2).

* Five events -- three field events and two relays -- produced double-digit points and accounted for 57 percent (60 points) of the team's total:  javelin (16 points) pole vault (14) and triple jump (10) and 3000 steeplechase (10) and 4x400 relay (10).

* Near-misses for All-LEC honors (finishing fourth) were Saige Kirkland in the 200, the 4x100 relay, and Katelyn DeNunzio in the pole vault, with four others placing fifth.

* Ali LeClerc won her second 3000 steeplechase title in three years, posting a time of 12:33.22 in 2022. Eastern recordholder Haley Knox was the 2019 champion in a time of 12:03.42. Knox holds the record of 11:29.45, set at Southern New Hampshire University in 2019.

* The winning 4x400 relay previously won in back-to-back years, clocking 4:15.26 in 2007 and 4:08.82 the next year.

* Natasha Frisch, a three-event All-LEC in swimming this past winter (and the 100 IM champion) broke the LEC record in winning the pole vault, with her height of 12-1 1/2 ranking her in a tie for 19th nationally this year. Bethany Dumas of Southern Maine had set  the record of 11-8 in 2011. After sharing the program outdoor record of 10-2 in her first three meets this year, Frisch broke that record at Westfield State, then eclipsed her record at the Bonnie Edmondson Classic and again Saturday. Southern Maine has dominated the event by winning 20 individual titles. Eastern has won four of the five titles not won by USM, with Erika Barber winning in 2008 (9-11 1/4) and former Eastern recordholder Amy Huhn taking titles in 2013 (9-6 1/4) and 2014 (10-0).

* Laci Davis gave Eastern its first female triple jump champion in 16 years. She became the first freshman to win it for Eastern, following two-time champion Summer Williams in 1999 (34-5) and 2001 (34-4 1/4) and Monica Mills in 2008 (34-1 1/2). Savonnah Artis holds the program record of 37-5 3/4, set at Eastern's home meet in 2015. 

* Earning All-Rookie honors as the first freshman finishers in their events were Laci Davis in the triple jump and Kate Malczynski-Griffin in the javelin. Davis won the triple jump and Malczynski-Griffin the javelin as two of only three freshmen to win individual events, joining Rose Karow of Plymouth State, who claimed the 800.

* Kate Malczynski-Griffin became the fifth Eastern female to win the javelin, first since Savannah Johnson (118-11) was Eastern's only individual champion in 2017. Eastern won the event in three of the first four years of the championship, with Jen Person winning it in back-to-back years in 2000 and 2001 before Johnson broke a 15-year drought in 2017.

All of Eastern's top seeds won their events: Natasha Frisch in the pole vault, Laci Davis in the triple jump, Ali LeClerc in the 3000SC and the 4x400 relay, with Kate Malczynski taking the javelin as the No. 9 seed.
TEAM SCORES
1. Southern Maine 145; 2. EASTERN CONN. 105; 3. UMass Boston 88; 4. Plymouth State 85
5. Keene State 76; 6. Rhode Island College 73; 7. UMass Dartmouth 52; 8. VTSU Castleton 26.
 

Qualifiers (16) All-Little East Conference
Place Name Event Mark
1. Natasha Frisch Pole Vault 12-1 1/2*#
1. Kate Malczynski-Griffin Javelin 116-9
1. Laci Davis Triple Jump 36-3 1/2
1. Laci Davis 4x400m Relay 4:21.37
1. Ashley Gentile 4x400m Relay 4:21.37
1. Saige Kirkland 4x400m Relay 4:21.37
1. Ali LeClerc 3000mSC 11:43.50
1. Haley Robertson 4x400m Relay 4:21.37
2. Keara Fontaine 10,000m 39:58.85
2. Alyssa Sirianni 400mH 1:08.78
3. Carly Alston 4xx800m Relay 10:36.45
3. Shannon Burby Javelin 107-7
3. Ella Campion 4x800m Relay 10:36.45
3. Ali LeClerc 4x800m Relay 10:36.45
3. Ashley Gentile 400m 1:04.01
3. Elisabeth Rodil 4x800m Relay 10:36.45
*-Program record #-Little East record
Points Breakdown by Event
Event Pts. Pace
Javelin 16 1st-3rd
Pole Vault 14 1st-4th
3000m Steeplechase 10 1st
Triple Jump 10 1st
4x400m Relay 10 1st
10,000m 8 2nd
400m Hurdles 8 2nd
400m 6 3rd
4x800m Relay 6 3rd
200m 4 4th
4x100m 4 4th
5000m 3 5th-6th
1500m 2 5th
100m Hurdles 2 5th
Hammer 2 5th
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