PROVIDENCE, R.I. (February 22, 2025) – The UMass Boston women's track and field team took third overall at the 2025 Little East Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships out of nine competing teams with 78 points.
The Beacons took home seven LEC Championship medals through top-three finishes, led by Aryianna Garceau (Dalton, Mass.) with three individual championship titles, two second place finishes from Jacqueline Earner (Abington, Mass.), and Dorinda Okorji (Maynard, Mass.) took home a bronze in the women's long jump, and silver in the high jump. 

The Beacons scored 24 points through sprinting events, 10 in the hurdles, 24 points from distance events, 16 from the jumper's runway, and four points via the 4x200m relay.

Garceau was thrice crowned LEC Champion in the 60m hurdles, the 60m dash, and the 200m dash in a highly successful showing. In the 60m hurdles, Garceau set the  LEC Championship Meet Record in the preliminaries (8.67s), qualifying her for the finals securely with the first seed. In the finals, she blew through the field for her first individual title with ease through an 8.62s finish, the fastest ever recorded at the LEC Championships in back-to-back performances. 

Garceau led four Beacons in the 60m dash. Joining her was Jhenelle Evans (Milton, Mass.), Elizabeth Roy (Abington, Mass.) and Okorji. Following preliminaries, Garceau led the field with a 7.75s qualifier for the next round. Okorji and Evans would join her through a 7.92s and 8.18s finish, respectively. In the 60m finals, Garceau set a new personal record in 7.74s for her second individual title, followed by Okorji in fourth place with a 7.93s finish and Evans in 8.27s. Garceau's new personal record was .11s off former UMass Boston Beacon Wadeline Jonathas' record (7.63) set back in 2018.  

Rounding out a flawless performance, Garceau was the sole representative in the 200m dash. She finished in 25.523. just 0.004s faster than the University of Southern Maine Huskies Sprinter Janiah Young (25.527), in a thrilling hairline finish for her third individual championship title, and 30 total points on the day.

The women's 4x200m relay of Jania Cooper (Lynn, Mass.), Evans, Roy, and Harleen Bassan (Northampton, Eng.) took fourth with a 1:54.12s finish for four additional points. 

In the 600m dash, Kylee Browning (Attleboro, Mass.) and Earner represented the Beacons well, with Browning finishing with a new PR in the event, 1:57.72s, just outside the top six finishers. Earner earned her eight-point second-place finish with a new PR of 1:41.15s. Earner finished second among 15 competitors in the event.

In the women's 1,000m run, Earner struck again with another silver medal, finishing second out of  12 competitors in 3:12.47s.

The dynamic duo of Grace Colon (West, Roxbury, Mass.) and Shea Roche (Weymouth, Mass.) took to the women's 3,000m run. With a field of 12 runners, Roche led the Beacons in second place with a 10:55.61s finish, followed by Colon in seventh place with a 11:20.62s finish. Colon also represented
UMass Boston in the women's 5,000m run with a 20:09.77s finish.

From the long jump runway, Okorji led three UMass Boston representatives with a third-place 5.25m (17 ft., 2.75 in.), good for six additional points. Garceau registered a 4.98m best on the runway, followed by Evans with a 3.76m mark.

Okorji took second in the women's high jump with a new PR of 1.59m (5 ft., 2.5 in.) out of eight competitors for an additional eight points.

Mackenzie Jorgensen represented UMass Boston from the vaulter's runway, scoring two points while clearing 2.35m (7 ft., 8.5 in.) with a fifth-place finish.

Katie Tuohy (Groton, Mass.) took to the throwers' circle for UMass Boston and recorded a 9.94m (32 ft., 7.5 in.) best in Providence.

As a team, the Beacons finished third at LECs for a second consecutive year. Last year, the Beacons scored 68 points at the meet compared to 2025's 78, a positive showing for the Beacons' first-year Head Coach Ozzie Brown. The Beacons continue to graduate into a new team culture that demands respect from competitors.

For select qualifiers, the Beacons will compete next week (Feb. 28 – Mar. 1) at the NCAA Division III Regional meet at the TRACK at New Balance, featuring the best competitors from the New England region. For those who do not qualify to continue into the postseason, their next competition will occur following spring break in the first outdoor competition of the spring season.

For all things UMass Boston Athletics, stay tuned at UMass Boston - Official Athletics Website.