WINTHROP, Mass. – The five men's and five women's Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) outdoor track & field teams will travel to Regis for the two-day 2024 GNAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships this weekend April 27-28. Day one on Saturday is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. for field events and 4:30 p.m. on the track.
In the week leading up to this year's championship, the five GNAC track & field head coaches conducted a Pre-Championship Poll. Saint Joseph's (Maine) was picked to win on the men's side, while the Regis women were predicted to finish first.
The Pride women are hoping that their home track can bring them good fortune after finishing as the GNAC runner-up a year ago. Regis earned 23 points in the poll with three of the first-place votes. Meanwhile, Emmanuel, which finished second in this year's voting, is hoping to make it three-straight GNAC titles as they secured 22 points and the final two first place votes. Colby-Sawyer (11), Saint Joseph's (Maine) (10), and Lasell (9) finished off this year's rankings in that order.
Under the Director of Track & Field/Cross Country Michael Burleson and his experienced coaching staff, Saint Joseph's returns six athletes from a team that finished fourth in the 2023 GNAC Championship event.
Three senior standouts – Brooklyn Goff (Biddeford, Maine), Abby O'Brien (Gorham, Maine), and Aaliyah WilsonFalcone (Winthrop, Maine) – lead the way while 2023 GNAC Track Rookie of the Year Alexia Young (Rochester, N.H.) and recent GNAC Rookie of the Week honorees Breya Whitman (Auburn, Maine) and Audrey Bilodeau (Lewiston, Maine) figure to play prominent roles as the Monks look to improve on their projected finish.
Goff earned four All-Conference honors a year ago after winning the 100-meter hurdles (16.87), 400-meter hurdles (1:13.68), and long jump (4.81m) events and placing second in the high jump (1.42m) and O'Brien finished second in the discus throw (27.73m) last spring.
Saturday's action will include the discus, javelin, and triple jump for field events. The featured track events are the preliminaries for men's 110m hurdles, women's 100m hurdles, and the men's and women's 100m dash. The 4x800m relay and 10K runs for both genders will also take place.
The meet will resume at noon on Sunday with the complete order of events listed below.
GNAC Women's Outdoor Track & Field Pre-Championship Poll:
| 1. | Regis | 23 (3 First Place) |
| 2. | Emmanuel | 22 (2) |
| 3. | Colby-Sawyer | 11 |
| 4. | Saint Joseph's (Maine) | 10 |
| 5. | Lasell | 9 |
EVENT SCHEDULE
SATURDAY, APRIL 27
FIELD EVENTS BEGIN AT 2 P.M.
Discus (Men then Women)
Javelin (Women then Men)
Triple Jump (Men then Women)
TRACK EVENTS BEGIN AT 4:30 P.M.
110m Hurdle Prelims (M)
100m Hurdle Prelims (W)
100m Dash Prelims (Men then Women)
4x800m Relay (Women then Men)
10K (Women then Men)
SUNDAY, APRIL 28
FIELD EVENTS BEGIN AT NOON
Hammer Throw (Men then Women)
Shot Put (Women then Men)
High Jump (Women then Men)
Pole Vault (Men then Women)
Long Jump (Men then Women)
TRACK EVENTS BEGIN AT NOON
3K Steeplechase (Men then Women)
4x100m Relay (Women then Men)
1500m (Women then Men)
100m Hurdles FINAL (W)
110m Hurdles FINAL (M)
400m (Women then Men)
100m Dash FINAL (Women then Men)
800m (Women then Men)
400m Hurdles (Women then Men)
200m Dash (Women then Men)
5K (Women then Men)
4x400m Relay (Women then Men)
ABOUT THE GREAT NORTHEAST ATHLETIC CONFERENCE
The Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) is an NCAA Division III association made up of 16 member institutions and over 4000 student-athletes across the New England region. Founded in 1995, the GNAC annually sponsors and administers 22 championships, while balancing academic integrity, athletic opportunity and community involvement in an effort to enhance the student-athlete experience.
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