January 28, 2023

The Basics

• The lead: Senior Laura Mathews won both the 60-meter hurdles and the 400-meter dash to lead the Stevens Institute of Technology women's indoor track & field team Saturday at the Conference Challenge Cup, hosted by Nazareth College.
• Location: Golisano Training Center - Rochester, N.Y.
• Short Story: Mathews continued her outstanding indoor campaign by winning both the 60-meter hurdles and the 400-meter dash. In the 60 hurdles, the Denville, New Jersey native topped the field in 8.79 seconds. She also ran the fastest preliminary race, reaching the line in 8.63 seconds, which was just three-hundredths-of-a-second off her record-setting time from earlier in the season. In her second event of the day, Matthews topped the field in her first collegiate 400 in 57.93 seconds. She leads the conference in both events, while also ranking second, and eighth, respectively, in Division III. She also ranks 26th nationally in the 60-meter dash and 16th in the 200.
• The Score: Stevens was paired with Misericordia in the Conference Challenge Cup to represent the Middle Atlantic Conference. The Ducks and the Cougars combined for 101.50  points to finish fourth among the five competing leagues. The Liberty League received a total of 192.50 points from Ithaca and Rochester to win the Cup. The State University of New York Athletic Conference totaled 180 points to finish second. The Empire 8 (112) placed third, while the Landmark Conference (55) finished fifth.

Top Finishes

• Senior Kristen Williams placed fourth in the 60-meter dash with a time of 8.40 seconds, matching a season best. She also ran a season-best time of 28.79 seconds in the 200. She capped her day by finishing sixth in the 60 hurdles with a time of 9.17 seconds. 
• Sophomore Caroline Tighe placed second in the high jump with a season-best height of 1.57 meters. The mark is good for second in the conference to date.
• Graduate student AnaMaria Laccetti is now ranked third in the MAC in both the shot put and the weight throw after placing fourth in the shot put with a distance of 11.40 meters, achieved on her first attempt. She moved into third place in the weight throw with her distance of 14 meters at last week's NYC Gotham Cup.

Key Performances

• Junior Allie Canciani placed 13th in the 400-meter dash with a time of 1:03.35 to move into eighth place in the conference. She also finished seventh in the high jump with a mark of 1.52 meters. First-year Maggie Previglian took seventh in the high jump after also clearing 1.52 meters.
• Three Ducks climbed into the top-10 in the MAC in the 800. Junior Rachel Pinho set a new PR and moved atop the conference leaderboard after placing ninth with a time of 2:26.12. Classmate Jacqueline Lulaj moved into seventh place after posting a time of 2:28.58, while junior Nina Burden moved into eighth place after finishing the race in 2:287.2.
• Graduate student Rachel Rouse took sixth in the mile with a time of 5:33.25. The time is the eighth-fastest time in the MAC to date.
• Junior Fionna Feerick finished fourth in her section of the 5,000, setting a new PR with a time of 19:46.28 to move into 10th place in the MAC.
• First-year pole vaulter Alexis Merola took eighth with a height of 3.05 meters.
• Senior Liana Meyer placed eighth in the long jump, but moved into fourth in the conference, with a distance of 5.24 meters. The mark is tied for the second-best jump of her indoor career.

 
From the Sidelines - Head Coach John Kolibab

• "The Conference Cup Challenge is always one of the highlights of our season. Pairing up with Misericordia and going against some of the best teams from other conferences in the area is a perfect way to start the back half of our season. We told the team that this was the meet to really kick things into gear and they responded in a big way."
• "We witnessed a tremendous amount of really incredible performances, which is a great sign with the MAC Championships just four weeks away. On a personal note, I can't remember having as much fun as I did at a track meet in a very long time. Not only is our group performing well, but they're also enjoying the competition and being extraordinarily supportive of each other. We've amassed a very special group of young men and women, and it's been an honor helping them on their journeys."
• "Our women's squad continued their great season with some unreal performances this weekend. Laura Mathews was again the standout, not only winning the 60 meter hurdles, but doing it 35 minutes after her first open 400 in nearly five years. Laura now sits in the top-30 in the country in four separate disciplines after an incredibly impressive 400 meter win. No one in the history of Stevens Track and Field has shown this kind of range at such a high level, other than six-time national champion Amy Regan."
• "The entire women's 800-meter field put on an absolute clinic, with five runners from the field posting indoor or overall lifetime bests. Rachel Pinho continued to show us how much she's improved from last season, posting the top mark from our field of 2:26."
• "For our women's team to continue having this level of success, all they have to do is stay the course and keep doing what they're doing. If they can accomplish that, it's going to be a very special end to the year."

Up Next

• Women's Track & Field heads north for the David Hemery Valentine Invitational, hosted by Boston University on Feb. 10-11. The team will also compete at the PLEX Shootout, hosted by Alvernia University on Feb. 11.

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