By ANDREW YOURELL
SPORTS EDITOR
A day after its top distance runners competed at the John Thomas Terrier Classic, the rest of the UNH women’s track and field team hosted a quad meet in the Paul Sweet Oval. Despite the absence of the talented distance unit, UNH cruised to victory over Maine, Vermont and Dartmouth.
The field events proved to be crucial for the Wildcats. The team won the weight throw, high jump, long jump and triple jump to outpace the competition.
In the weight throw, sophomore Emily Wernig recorded a personal best of 50 feet, 10.25 inches to win the event.
“We have always had a really strong distance crew, so I think since we knew we didn’t have them this weekend really made us step up our game,” Wernig said. “Last weekend for the throws team was rough and this weekend we really wanted to redeem ourselves and show that we can score and be an important part of the team as well.”
The other wins in the field events were recorded by Shelby Strickland, Emma Checovich and Lexie Arbour. Strickland claimed gold in the high jump, hitting a height of 5-feet-5-inches. In the long jump, Checovich’s 17-foot-2-inch jump was the only mark to make it past the 17-foot mark. Arbour was the only Wildcat to compete in the triple jump, but beat out a trio of Black Bears with a 34-foot jump.
On the track, the Wildcats were led by senior Lauren Perrodin. Perrodin competed in the 200-meter dash on Friday at the Terrier Classic, before returning to take gold in the 55-meter dash at Saturday’s meet. Perrodin recorded a 7.18 in the victory, followed by teammate Jessica Hackett in 7.42 seconds.
“The turnaround was rough but the championship meets are two days so it was good practice staying focused for both days,” Perrodin said of the quick turnaround.
“As for the team, we’ve been working hard all season and I can’t wait to see how we perform,” the senior co-captain said. “This is the best team we’ve ever had. Conference is going to be a great opportunity to really show that off.”
The Wildcats return to action on Feb. 6 at Rhode Island to prep for the America East Championships.