May 1, 2021

The Basics

• The lead: Sophomore Laura Mathews broke her own school record in the 100-meter hurdles to lead the Stevens Institute of Technology women's outdoor track and field Saturday at the Monarch Open, hosted by King's College.
• Location: Betzler Athletic Complex - Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
• Short Story: In the final event before the Middle Atlantic Conference Championships, Mathews won the race in 14.72 seconds, which topped her winning time of 14.94 at the Bill Fritz Invitational. In addition to winning the race and setting a new school record, Mathews' time also topped the previous facility record of 15.19 seconds. Mathews is currently ranked 16th in Division III.
• The Score: Team scores were not compiled

Top Finishes

• Graduate student Gina Dello Russo topped the field in the 400-meter dash in 55.33 seconds, to join Mathews in setting a new facility record. The time bested the previous facility mark of 59.72 seconds set on Apr. 18, 2019. The time is the second-fastest in Division III this season and just three-hundredths-of-a-second off Messiah's Esther Seeland's time set one week ago. The time is the fastest in the Atlantic Region by over a full second and nearly a second-and-a-half faster than Dello Russ's previous top mark of the season. Stevens now owns the Betzler Athletic Complex's top 400-meter time in both genders.
• The Ducks' 4x100-meter relay team of sophomores Kristen Williams and Liana Meyer, Mathews and Dello Russo topped the field with a time of 50.34 seconds to set a new school record. The mark is the fastest time in the Middle Atlantic Conference this season and the fifth-fastest in the Atlantic Region. It surpassed the previous school mark of 51.28 seconds set at the 2014 Empire 8 Championships.
• First-year Allie Canciani tied for second in the high jump, clearing a personal-best 1.55 meters, which is the second highest mark in the conference and tied for the 12th-best mark in the region.

Key Performances

• Williams finished second in the 100 hurdles, with a time 15.83 seconds. Graduate student Melissa Barnes placed fourth with a season-best time of 17.38 seconds. Williams is currently ranked sixth in the conference, while Barnes is ranked 13th.
• Junior AnaMaria Laccetti finished second in the hammer throw, touching a new personal-best 43.22 meters. She's currently ranked fifth in the conference. Laccetti also placed third in discus, with a distance of 34.37 meters. 
• Junior Meghan Douglas placed second in the shot put, reaching 10.74 meters. She currently ranked ninth in the conference in her first season as a collegiate thrower.
• Douglas also finished fifth in the discus with a PR of 29.78 meters to qualify for the conference meet. 

From the Blocks

• "Our women's team had a fantastic meet and showed that they are ready to perform at a high level next week for the MAC Championships. Execution continues to improve each week and our team spirit is at a season high. We are excited for the culmination of our team's season and to compete against the full conference at Widener." - head coach Lance Harden
• "Laura Mathews had the best technical race of her collegiate career and she's really starting to understand how to sprint in between each hurdle. She's already a whole second faster now than at the start of the season and every race so far this year has been faster than the last." - assistant coach John Kolibab
• "Our women's 4x1 squad blew away our school record this weekend. It was only a matter of time before they were able to get the stick around cleanly, and we knew when they did our school record would be in jeopardy. Exchanges can always improve in the 4x1 and with some more practice this week their time should drop again." - assistant coach John Kolibab
• "Gina Dello Russo executed a near perfect race plan in the 400. Gina was almost a full second faster in her first half of the race this weekend and when the first half is fast, the second half often follows suit. More impressively, she ran by herself for all but the first 50 meters. The 400 is absurdly difficult to run without competitors to your left and right, and if Gina can run that race on her own, I'm excited to see what she can do with people to chase." - assistant coach John Kolibab
• "AnaMaria Laccetti continues to show us how well rounded she is. She improved her hammer PR by 2.5 meters and five out of her six attempts passed her previous PR. Next week should be a lot of fun for AnaMaria." - assistant coach Tim Wilson
• "Meg has flirted with the conference mark in discus all season and today was finally the day. Throwing 29.78 meters to place fifth, we are very excited to have Meg in both the shot and discus next weekend at the conference championship." - assistant coach Tim Wilson
• "We had another successful weekend with more personal bests and a couple of big wins, but what we were most proud of was everyone's attitude. The level of excitement and positivity surrounding this meet was very encouraging to see. Taking this mentality into championship week bodes very well for our squad." - assistant coach John Kolibab
• "Allie Canciani improved her season's best by four inches in high jump, getting over five feet for only the second time in her career and earning a new lifetime best. This was her first time competing since March, and we are thrilled with the technical improvements she's made over the past month." - head coach Lance Harden

Up Next

• Women's Track & Field returns to Widener University for the third time this season on May 6 for the three-day MAC Championships.

Facebook: "Like" Stevens Athletics         
Twitter: @stevensducks
Instagram: @stevensducks
#AllRise