BOSTON, MA (January 13, 2024) – The UMass Boston women's track and field program placed fourth out of eleven competing teams from the Reggie Lewis Center in Boston, MA as they took the track for the first time in the new year. The Beacs scored 61 points led by top finishes from Dorinda Okorji, Jacqueline Earner, Aryianna Garceau, and Hialeah Foster, as the Beacons shined in each event they lined up for.

Track Events:

Beginning with the short distance events, junior sprinter Dorinda Okorji had a career day in the 60m dash, winning the event outright through preliminaries, and followed up her performance by dropping a personal record of 7.84, good for first place in the final heat. She currently is tied for 28^th nationally in the 60m dash. Also squeezing into the 60m finals, was sophomore Aryianna Garceau, who also contributed points in two different events to light the way for the Beacons' top-four finish outright at the meet. Garceau placed sixth in the 60m finals, as she posted a time of 8.28, good for three points. Garceau would also qualify for hurdle finals, where she went on to earn 10 more points by winning the event outright with a 9.32 finish, just three-hundredths of a second in front of second place, and another three-hundredths of a second shy of her season record. Also competing in the 60m dash was junior Harleen Bassan (21 – 9.01 – personal ), first-year Amiya Sharp (30 – 9.94), and junior Cayla Jean – Louis (32 – 10.9).

Moving into the mid-distance events, sophomore Jacqueline Earner led the way for the Beacs through the 400m and 600m dash, a considerably difficult duo. Earner's strong showing earned her six points in the 400m (3 - 1:04.5 – personal record) and eight points in the 600m (2 – 1:42.89 – personal record). In the 800m dash, juniors Grace Colon and Sarah Cambell together earned the Beacs six points following personal record performances, as Colon finished fifth with a time of 2:47.16, and Cambell finished seventh with a time of 2:56.16.

Diving into the distance events, Colon and Cambell each laced up the spikes for the women's mile, as the two represented UMass Boston in the event. Colon finished eighth with a time of 6:01.03, good for one point, and Cambell finished 12^th in 6:22.73.

Field Events:

First-year Hialeah Foster doubled in the high jump and the long jump. In the high jump, Foster posted a personal record and team-high mark for the season with her 1.51m (4'11.5") good for fourth overall and five points. In the long jump, Foster recorded another personal record of 5.05m (16'7") good for second place and eight points. Garceau also took flight in the long jump, posting a 4.81m (15'9.5") mark, good for fifth place, four points, and a personal record, for the final event of her day.

Lastly, representing the Beacons in the thrower's circle was Abigail Schell, who posted a 7.52m mark in the weight throw.

The Beacons kick off the new year with a bang from the Reggie Lewis Center to begin 2024, as their next meeting takes place on Sunday, January 21 from Cambridge, MA at the GBTC Invitational at Harvard University. Live results and video coverage may be found at UMass Boston - Official Athletics Website (beaconsathletics.com).