MYRTLE BEACH, SC ( March 16, 2024) – The UMass Boston women's track and field team turned the page following a successful indoor season and opened their 2024 outdoor campaign from the Alan Connie Shamrock Invitational at the Doug Shaw Memorial Stadium from Myrtle Beach in South Carolina, headlined by many stellar performances, as the Beacons translated their strong showing in indoor to the track outdoors.

In the 100m dash, junior combo sprinter Dorinda Okorji qualified for the semi-finals with a preliminary time and a season-opening 12.35s for the fourth-best time amongst 78 sprinters. The Beacons' All-Rookie combo jumper Hialeah Foster also strapped up for the 100m dash, as she opened her season with a 13.15 through 100 meters.

The Beacons' sophomore Jacqueline Earner won the 800m dash outright, as she posted a first-place finish by five seconds, posting an outdoor opener of 2:23.10s in the 800m. The triad of Grace Colon, Elia Valez, and Sarah Cambell also took reps at the 800m dash, with Colon and Valez finishing back to back, as Colon finished in 2:41.55s – a new personal record for the junior -  and Valez crossing immediately afterward in 2:43.02. Cambell followed suit with a finish of 2:50.51. Velez also had herself a day in the 3000m steeplechase, as she opened her season with a new best of 13:36.00 for a sixth-place finish overall in the event.

Sophomore Aryianna Garceau kept her upward progression in the hurdles, as she opened her season with a new personal record over the 100m hurdles, as she posted a 14.79s finish into a -1.8 headwind for a fifth-place finish in the event overall. Garceau also took to the 200m dash, as she posted a season-opening time of 25.92 assisted by a +3.5 tailwind for a 23rd-place finish out of more than 90 sprinters.

Colon also took the spotlight as the team's top finisher in the women's 5000m race, as she finished 16^th out of 40 with a time of 19:10.22s. Cambell also strapped up in the women's 5000m with a time of 22:39.82s.

Moving into the field events, the UMass Beacons' bomb squad finally got to showcase their full versatility, with four Beacs finishing within six places of each other in the javelin throw, as the squad showed out in the javelin throw and shotput. Senior Cayla Jean-Louise led the way in the javelin throw with a new personal record of 17.46m (57' 3"), followed by a new personal record in the shotput with an 8.88m (29' 1.75") mark. Sophomore Abigail Schell followed up Jean-Louise in the javelin throw with a new personal record of 16.18m (53' 1").

In the women's horizontal jumps, the Beacons' Little East Conference All-Rookie jumper Hiahleah Foster took ninth overall out of 54 other long-jumpers, as she posted a best mark of 5.04m with a +2.3 tailwind. Garceau also took to the long jump runway, as her best mark read 4.54m on the results sheet at the conclusion of the day. Foster also recorded a ninth-place finish in the women's high jump, with a best leap of 1.53m.

Up next for the UMass Boston women's track and field team, the Beacons take a quick field trip north to Medford, Massachusetts to take on the Tufts University Snowflake Classic on Saturday, March 30^th. Live results will be available during the event, followed by full compiled results and recap to follow after the meet, find them all here at UMass Boston - Official Athletics Website (beaconsathletics.com).