the Informer

Freshman Britney Lawson proved yet again that breaking Hartford’s record for the hammer throw is only a temporary accomplishment at the Umass Invitational Saturday.

Lawson was one of three Hartford track and field athletes who surpassed previous school records at the meet. Her performance at the University of Massachusetts marked the third consecutive time in the outdoor season that Lawson has set the school standard for the Hammer throw. Her hurl of 46.17 was .11 meters longer than her previous stat. The freshman was credited fourth place in the event.

Another record-breaker on the day for the women was Caitlyn Hauswirth. The pole-vault specialist was able to improve her personal, and school record by six centimeters. She cleared the height of 3.05 meters which was the fifth highest amongst the competitors.

Unlike Lawson and Hauswirth who ended up enhancing their previous accolades, Jonas Hampton conquered a record that he didn’t already possess. Greg Bate owned the original record for the 10,000-meter run, and after 25 laps and 15 years, Hampton took it down with a time of 32:34:47. The junior exceeded Bates’ run time by a margin of around 16 seconds and earned sixth place in the event.

Another true freshman, Priscilla Appiagyei, captured the highest standing among the women’s squad with a second place performance. In the 400-meter dash she came just short of crossing the line a head of the pack, with Sherez Mohamed, of Albany edging the finish by a mere .13 seconds. Also on the track, Kaycee Martinez had another strong outing on the day, flourishing in several hurdle events. Her best performance was in the 400-meter hurdles. She crossed the line third with a time of 1:04:97. The reliable senior also finished fourth in the 100-meter hurdles, recording a time of 15.58 seconds.

One set of events that Hartford’s track team has been consistent in during both the indoor and regular season has been the relay races. The team, consisting of Anderson Emerole, Eric Ciccone, Mike Dupaul and Warren Lane, thrived once again in the 4×400-meter relay. The squad’s collective time of 3:22:10 was around three seconds short of stealing first place from top finishing Albany. Anderson Emerole and Warren Lane also found success in their individual events at the Umass Invitational.

Two Hawks clustered the top standings in the 400-meter run, Anderson Emerole and Warren Lane. Emerole was the first finisher of the two; he ran valiantly but wound up with a second place honor with Albany’s Jonathan Santana edging him at the line by a measly .52 seconds. Lane finished right behind his teammate, claiming third place in the event with a time of 50.09.

The men’s track and field team collected 27 points which placed them ninth out of eleven schools, and the women gathered 44.50, resulting in an eighth out of nine place standing at the invitational. Although Hartford was not able to tally up enough points on the afternoon, to be placed high among the rest of the schools, the team had great performances both individually and as a team which they could take away from the day.

The squad’s next challenge will be on Saturday, April 17th, where the Hawks will compete at the Holy Cross Invitational in Worcester Mass.