HENNIKER, N.H. - Kicking off their pre-varsity season, the New England College track & field team made their unofficial return to the track for the USA Track & Field New England Indoor Championships on Sunday, held at the Gordon Track in Boston, Massachusetts hosted by Harvard University.
Sophomore Sophia Lapointe (Salem, N.H.) kicked off a busy day by placing 15th in the 60-meter hurdles with an 11.19. In the 400-meter race, Lapointe finished in 19th in 1:15.98. She also competed in the 200m where the Pilgrims were paced by junior Kalie Villagomez (Wichita, Kan.) who placed 30th with a time of 29.58.
In the women's 60-meter dash, Villagomez and senior Vic Johnson (Troy, N.Y.) finished just six hundredths of a second apart, placing 19th and 20th out of 37 runners. Villagomez made her season debut at 8.61 while Johnson finished in 8.67.
Villagomez and Johnson again finished just one spot away from each other in the long jump, this time Johnson getting the slight edge in 17th at 4.55 meters and Villagomez in 18th with a longest flight of 4.19 meters.
Sophomore Trevor Peal (Crown Poind, Ind.) finished 26th in a stacked 400-meter race of 50 runners, crossing the finish line in 53.92, followed by freshman Oscar Keresey (Pittsfield, Maine) in his first competition. Peal also made his debut in the 200 meter event.
Junior Amanda Ducharme (Bedford, N.H.), freshman Skylar Simpson (Prospect, Conn.), sophomore Ryan Weidman (Weare, N.H.) all raced in the men's and women's 800m, wrapping up the track events for the day.
In the women's shot put, freshman Delana Fausett (Orange, Mass.) placed 12th of 24 with a long throw of 7.79 meters.
The Pilgrims will compete in a full varsity schedule in 2026-2027, but first for the 'Grims they will compete in two more meets as a pre-varsity squad: the Southern New Hampshire University Spring Opener on March 28th and the Ed Daniels Classic hosted by SNHU on April 11th.
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