GORHAM, Maine – The Saint Joseph's College indoor track & field teams kicked off the 2016-17 season by competing in the University of Southern Maine Invitational on Saturday afternoon. The event was of the non-scoring variety.

On the women's side, five team records fell in the season opener, as freshman Lillian Bisset(Jefferson, Maine) set a new mark in the 200-Meter dash (28.37), sophomore Alysha Smith (Jaffrey, N.H.) broke the 55-Meter dash record (7.89), and sophomore Meghan Burke (Falmouth, Mass.) topped the former shot put record with a 9.52-meter distance while the Monks' 4 x 400 Meter (Harnden, Quirion, Sautter, Curtin – 4:41.86) and 4 x 200 Meter (Barrett, Smith, Pond, Bisset – 1:57.70) relay quartets also established new team high-water marks Saturday.

On the men's side, a group of four freshmen – Zach Hirst (Old Orchard Beach, Maine), Zach Ham (Saco, Maine), Keenan Welzel (Brunswick, Maine), and Andrew D'Ovidio (Walpole, Mass.) – posted a 3:43.08 time to set a new team record in the 4 x 400 Meter relay.

THE RUNDOWN – WOMEN:

• Sophomore Sarah Curtin (Strafford, N.H.) won the 1-Mile run with a 5:40.97 performance
• Freshman Laurel Grigalunas-Mahon (Hingham, Mass.) was third in the 1000-Meter run (4:06.04) and ninth in the 400-Meter dash (1:17.05)
• Bisset was fourth in the 55-Meter hurdles (9.15) and fifth in the 200-Meter dash (28.37)
• Senior Marisa Lundy (Merrimac, Mass.) finished fourth in the 800-Meter run (2:40.80)
• Breeann Sautter (Lisbon, Maine) placed fifth in the 800-Meter run (2:46.85)
• Freshman Marisa Quirion (Gardiner, Maine) finished fifth in the 1-Mile run (6:14.82)
• Sophomore Alysha Smith (Jaffrey, N.H.) finished sixth in the 55-Meter dash (7.89) and eighth in the 200-Meter dash (29.68)
• Sophomore Kelsey Barrett (Gardiner, Maine) finished sixth in the 55-Meter hurdles (10.05) and 10th in the 200-Meter dash (29.97)
• Junior Kyrie Harnden (Wilton, Maine) placed seventh in the 400-Meter dash (1:11.40)
• Burke was eighth in the shot put (9.52m) and 13th in the 200-Meter dash (30.86)
• Sophomore Rebecca Pond (Westwood, Mass.) placed 15th in the 55-Meter dash (8.97) and 21st in the 200-Meter dash (33.39)

THE RUNDOWN – MEN:

• Ham finished eighth in the 55-Meter dash (7.38) and 15th in the 200-Meter dash (25.14)
• Freshman Andrew Porada (Scarborough, Maine) was 11th in the 55-Meter dash (7.56) and 20th in the 200-Meter dash (26.80)
• Sophomore Joshua Hunter (Lawrence, Mass.) placed 15th in the 55-Meter dash (7.77) and 24th (28.42)
• Sophomore Marshall Berninghausen (Brasher Falls, N.Y.) won the hammer throw with a 10.68-meter effort and finished seventh in the shot put (8.59m) and 16th in the 55-Meter dash (8.05)
• Welzel topped the 800-Meter run field with a 2:02.37 performance
• D'Ovidio was fourth in the 400-Meter dash (54.47) and 12th in the 200-Meter dash (24.65)
• Sophomore Kevin Cotter (Sandwich, Mass.) placed fourth in the shot put (8.91m)
• Hirst placed fifth in the triple jump (11.57m), sixth in the 400-Meter dash (58.04) and 10th in the long jump (5.68m)
• Sophomore Harrison DeCotis (North Scituate, R.I.) was sixth in the shot put (8.69m)
• Junior Lucas Fisher (Strafford, N.H.) placed sixth in the 5000-Meter run (17:17.67)
• Freshman Jacob Boissonnault (Biddeford, Maine) finished ninth in the 5000-Meter run (18:41.11)
• Freshman Kevin McWilliams (New Milford, Conn.) finished 10th in the 1-Mile run (5:03.21)
• First-year David Tuttle (Brunswick, Maine) was 10th in the shot put (7.02m) and 13th in the long jump (4.68m)
• Freshman Connor White (Bayport, N.Y.) finished 11th in the shot put (6.67m)
• Freshman Ben Plante (Biddeford, Maine) was 13th in the 1-Mile run (5:18.42)

NEXT!

Saint Joseph's is off until Saturday, January 7th when the men's and women's teams compete at University of Southern Maine. 

#GOMONKS

Follow Saint Joseph's Athletics on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram!

Saint Joseph's College is Maine's only Catholic liberal arts college, providing a supportive, personalized and career-focused education for more than 100 years. From its 474-acre campus on the shores of Sebago Lake, the College offers more than 40 undergraduate programs to a population of approximately 1,000 students. Saint Joseph's College Online provides certificates, undergraduate and advanced degrees for working adults through an online learning program. For more, visit www.sjcme.edu.