Women’s Track & Field Collects Two Wins, Three Program Records to Finish Third at Silfen Invitational
Posted: Apr 15, 2017

Women’s Track & Field Collects Two Wins, Three Program Records to Finish Third at Silfen Invitational

NEW LONDON, Conn. (April 15, 2017) – Freshman Catherine Purves (Dalkeith, Scotland) hit her first career NCAA Championship provisional qualifying mark on Saturday, to win the 400-meter hurdles and help lead the Franklin Pierce University women's track & field team to a third-place finish at the two-day Silfen Invitational, hosted by Connecticut College. The Ravens collected a pair of wins and three program records over the course of the meet.

Franklin Pierce finished the two-day affair with 84.5 points, which made them the top-scoring Division II team at the meet. The Ravens finished third behind host Connecticut College (107.5 points) and Trinity (90).

It was Purves who shone the brightest for the Ravens on the weekend. She laid down a time of 1:02.24 to win the 400-meter hurdles. The mark met both the NCAA provisional mark and the qualifying mark for the NEICAAA Championships. Purves also established a new program record with the time, which ranks first in the East Region.

Franklin Pierce's other win established a new program record as well. Senior Nicole Galewski (Whitman, Mass.) posted the East Region's top heptathlon mark so far by racking up 4361 points to finish first.

The Ravens also saw the program record fall in the 10,000 meters, where freshman Julia Cormier (Northwood, N.H.) put together a time of 40:09.38 to finish seventh. The time met the NEICAAA qualifying mark and is good for ninth in the Northeast-10 Conference.

Cormier was closely followed by two of her teammates, as Ravens finished seventh, eighth and ninth in the 10,000. Fellow freshman Rebecca Zylak (Goffstown, N.H.) turned in a 40:36.83 to finish eighth, while junior Natalie Davies (Ware, Mass.) followed with a 40:41.87 to place ninth. The two rank 10th and 11th, respectively, in the NE10.

Also on the track, senior Breigh Souliere (Cumberland, R.I.) turned in a time of 15.99 seconds to finish fourth in the 100-meter hurdles.

The remainder of Franklin Pierce's success came in field events, including a pair of athletes who each turned in a pair of top-five finishes. Senior Samantha Toscano (Northwood, N.H.) placed third in the triple jump (10.59m) and fifth in the long jump (5.37m). Her mark in the latter is fourth in the NE10 and fifth in the East Region, while the former stands ninth in the NE10. Meanwhile, freshman Katey Comstock (Windsor, Vt.) checked in at fourth in the discus (36.50m) and fifth in the javelin (36.39m). She now stands tied for sixth in the NE10 and tied for ninth in the East Region in the discus, as well as sixth in the NE10 and ninth in the East Region in the javelin.

Behind Toscano in the long jump, sophomore Lilian Baah (Danielson, Conn.) finished sixth with a leap of 5.35 meters, which ranks fifth in the NE10.

Elsewhere, Franklin Pierce had a pair of top-five finishers in the hammer throw. Junior Emily Quinn (West Bridgewater, Mass.) now ranks fifth in both the NE10 and the East Region after finishing second (45.46m), while senior Kendra Plant (Cumberland, R.I.) placed fifth (40.73m).

The Ravens return to action on Friday, April 21, when they travel to the Larry Ellis Invitational, hosted by Princeton University, in Princeton, N.J.

For more information on Franklin Pierce Athletics, please visit the official website of Franklin Pierce Athletics (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu). Also be sure to follow the Ravens through the Department of Athletics' official Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/FranklinPierceRavens), its YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/franklinpiercesports) and its Twitter feed (http://twitter.com/FPUathletics). Fans wishing to purchase Franklin Pierce track and field apparel can do so at the Department of Athletics' brand new online store (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store).