MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – The Eastern Connecticut State University men's and women's track & field teams competed at Wesleyan University on Saturday in a non-scoring meet for the second time this season, this time at the Wesleyan Alumni Invitational, having opened their season at Bacon Field House on December 6.
 
Eastern put five athletes in the 5000m, as Meghan Georgescu (Cheshire) led the women with her 20:37 for fourth. On the men's side, Luke Dalton (Naugatuck) finished third with an all-time Top 20 time of 16:16.00, a very impressive time for the first-year runner in his first collegiate 5000m. Izzy Northrop (Uncasville) continued her strong first season, leading her teammates in the 60m hurdles, qualifying for the final with a 9.75. With about half as many competing athletes in the men's 60m hurdles, both Jack Harvell (Stafford) and Kennedy Lurry (Hartford) made it through to the final. The pair ran 9.22 and 9.30 in prelims, respectively. Jasmine Charlery (New Britain) finished first in the 60m in a field of 32 with a run of 8.15, which improved her time by .01 as the third-fastest 60 in program history. First-year runner Maya Korczak (East Hampton) also qualified for the final, running 8.29 for sixth. James Saint-Jean (Bridgeport) ran Eastern's fastest time in the 60m today, but his 7.36 missed finals by just 0.05 seconds.
 
Natalie Estabrook (Clinton) was the only woman to run the mile for Eastern today, finishing in 6:25.50. On the men's side, Hayden Baber (Gales Ferry) led a pack of three Warriors with his time of 4:42.91, enough for fourth place. In the 60m hurdles final, Harvell narrowly lowered his time in prelims, running 9.17 and finishing fourth. Northrop ran a 9.77 in her final and finished in sixth for Eastern. Charlery did not start her 60m final, but Korczak represented Eastern with her seventh place finish in 8.37. Charlery did compete in the 400m, finishing under a second off first-placed Ella Caplet (Bozrah). The transfer from Mitchell College took the win in 1:01.93, beating the other 16 competitors. The Warriors also won the event on the men's side, as Jakeem Wilson (Sterling) ran a 51.16 to finish first in the 23 man field.
 
The women's 800m was run by Eastern's Daria Fournier (Farmington), who finished in 2:54.37. Sam Ambrocio (Beacon Falls) ran a 2:04.48 for second in the men's race. Emely Melendez (Nashua, NH) was third in the 1000m, running a 3:12.73. Also taking third in her race was first-year member Casondra Caldwell (Bridgeport), the program's indoor triple jump record-holder who ran 27.21 in the 200m (18^th fastest all-time). Lurry's 24.49 was Eastern's fastest time on the men's side. Khentrell Graham (Windsor) ran 10:00.45 for fourth in the 3000m, closing out the individual track events on the day. Eastern's 4x800m relay took fourth on the women's side, running 11:15.37 and the men took second, running 8:24.44. The women's winning 4:12.39 performance in the 4x400m was over six seconds faster than second place and was the 11^th fastest in program history, while the men also dominated the competition with a 3:31.15. Caplet, Caldwell, Laci Davis and Charlery combined on the women's relay
 
In addition to the hurdles, Northrop also competed in the high jump, clearing 1.50m (4-11) for fifth place. Dustin Sannasi (Waterbury) cleared 1.85m (6-0.75) to represent the Eastern men in the competition and take third. Katelyn DeNunzio (Bolton) cleared 2.15m (7-0.75) in the pole vault, while Lucian Parker-Jennings (Athens, VT) cleared 4.00m (13-1.5) for second on the men's side. Tristan Nye (Willimantic) led the Warriors in the long jump, with a mark of 6.30m (20-8) for fifth, while Caldwell won the competition on the women's side. She jumped 5.35m (17-6.75) on her final attempt. Nye doubled back for the triple jump, hitting a mark of 12.32m (40-5) to lead Eastern. Angelina Taccogna (Stratford) jumped 10.49m (34-5) to take second for the women.
 
In the women's shot put, Anaka Eaton (Coventry) threw 11.36m (37-3.25) on her first attempt, earning fifth place. First-year team member Jerron McNair (Hartford) led the men in this competition, throwing 11.77m (38-7.50) for 13^th place. In the weight throw, Ellis Thompson (Coventry) finished in the top 10 with his throw of 13.66m (44-10) and Chloe Hammer (Montville) threw 10.33m (33-11) in the women's competition.
 
On Friday, the men's team will head to the Harvard University Invitational at Gordon Indoor Track in Cambridge, MA. The two-day meet will feature the women's races on Saturday. Similar to the URI Invitational, the Warriors can expect to face several Division I teams, while last year's competition featured Division III teams as well.