
SOMERVILLE, Mass. – It was another busy Saturday for the track and field team as they competed in the 2012 Tufts University Snowflake Invitational. As part of the many standout performances were a record setting time by Kebba Nasso (Attleboro, Mass.) in the 200 meter dash and a record height by Jacqueline Conway in the pole vault.
Nasso, who placed second in the event recorded a time of 22.15 seconds breaking the original program record by five-hundredths of a second. For Conway, she added two more inches to her already program record in the pole vault as the sophomore closed out the meet with a height of 7-06.50 feet to finish in 11th place.
On the men's side, Nasso led the Beacons in the 100 meter dash as he finished in second in the event with a time of 11.20 seconds. Also qualifying for the finals of the event was Henry Morales (Chelsea, Mass.) as the junior finished in sixth place with a time of 11.48 seconds.
Morales also posted a sixth place finish in the 200 with his final time of 23.08 seconds. Norbert Simon (Chelsea, Mass.) recorded a time of 24.08 seconds to finish in 22nd place. Brandon Couloute (Shelton, Mass.) and Ervin Lofton (Ann Arbor, Mich.) were also top-40 finishers as the two recorded times of 24.43 and 24.68 seconds respectively.
Hamza Abdul (Chelsea, Mass.) recorded a 21st place finish in the 400 meter dash to lead UMass Boston with his time of 54.46 seconds. Chhenlee Ly (Leominster, Mass.) finished in 38th place with a time of 1:00.00, followed by Tylor Hart (Newton, Mass.) who trailed his teammate by 29th-hundredths of a second to finish in 39th place.
Jake Kerin (Quincy, Mass.) was the lone competitor for UMass in the 1,500 meter run as he posted a time of 4:19.58. Xhulio Uruci (Newton, Mass.) followed suit as the lone competitor in the 5,000 meter run as he finished the event in 19th place with a time of 16:08.16.
The 4x100 relay team of Morales, Nasso, Lofton, and Couloute combined for a second place finish with a time of 44.60 seconds.
In the field events Carl Joseph (Brockton, Mass.) led the Beacons in the high jump with a leap of 6-01.25 feet. Hart was right behind him in sixth place with the same jump. Lofton posted an eighth place finish with a height of 5-11.25 feet.
Abdul took eighth in the triple jump with a distance of 41-06.75 feet, while Lenford Coote (Brooklyn, N.Y.) took 34th place in the discus throw (67-08 feet). Nasso closed out the day with a throw of 143-05 feet in the javelin throw (12th place).
In the women's 100 meter dash it was Samara Faustin (Boston, Mass.) who led UMass Boston with a time of 13.12 seconds (11th). Behind her was Ari Leao (New Bedford, Mass.) in 17th place with a time of 13.37 seconds. Faustin also posted the top time for the Beacons in the 200 meter dash with her time of 26.64 seconds (10th). Leao notched her second top-20 finish as she recorded a time of 1:03.82.
Mari Littleton was the lone Beacon in the 800 meter run as the freshman recorded a time of 2:40.86. In the 4x100 meter dash Alessandra Fiallos (Derby, Conn.), Faustin, Fatima Konteh (Lewis Center, Ohio), and Leao recorded a combined time of 54.51 seconds to earn an eighth place finish.
In the high jump Fiallos recorded a leap of 4-04.25 feet to finish in 17th place. Brittany Moore recorded a team-best throw of 87-08 feet to post a 30th place finish in the discus throw. Anitra Kloczewiak (Newton, Mass.) was next in line for UMass with her throw of 69-02 feet, followed by Chrissy Soares-Fernandes (Brockton, Mass.) with her throw of 67-11 feet, and Kaity Merrikin (East Bridgewater , Mass.) with her throw of 58-11 feet.
Kloczewiak was the top competitor for UMass in the hammer throw with her toss of 100-00 feet. Nicole Aube (Westfield, Mass.) recorded a throw of 84-00 feet to finish second for the Beacons in the event.
Soares-Fernandes led the way in the shot put with her throw of 25-05.50 feet (35th). Aube was next in line with her throw of 24-07.00 feet (36th).
Track and Field returns to action next Saturday when they compete in the UMass Dartmouth Corsair Invitational. Start time is scheduled for 9 a.m.