BOSTON (December 1, 2018) – Senior CeCe Telfer (Lebanon, N.H.) hit the NCAA Championships automatic qualifying mark in the 60-meter hurdles, while freshman Paola Brena (Queretaro, Mexico) added an NCAA provisional qualifying mark in the high jump on Saturday, as the Franklin Pierce University women's track & field team opened the season in style at the UMass Boston Indoor Open. Both set school records, along with senior Lilian Baah (Danielson, Conn.), who hit the NEICAAA Championships qualifying mark in the triple jump, while freshman Alana Thompson (Westampton, N.J.) notched her first collegiate win in the 1000 meters.

The busy Saturday was highlighted by Telfer's performance in the 60-meter hurdles, where she notched the first NCAA Championships automatic qualifying mark in the history of the women's program. She placed first in the event's preliminaries, with a time of 8.54 seconds, and clocked an even better time in the final, where she posted a run of 8.33 seconds to set a school record and win the event. Telfer doubled up on the day and also competed in the high jump, where she cleared 1.55 meters to finish sixth.

The high jump was also the site of another school-record performance at UMass Boston. Brena – a former national champion in her native Mexico – got up and over 1.70 meters, which was good enough for a second-place finish and met the NCAA Championships provisional qualifying mark. Junior Olivia Mabbett (Milford, N.H.) also collected a top-five finish in the high jump, as she cleared 1.55 meters to finish in a tie for fourth.

In addition to Telfer and Brena, who both posted NEICAAA qualifying marks while hitting their respective NCAA marks, Baah wasted no time punching her ticket to the New England Championships, as she took first place in the triple jump. It was a hop, skip and jump of 11.61 meters, which was also good enough to establish a new school record.

Elsewhere on Saturday, the Ravens had three of the top-four finishers in the 1000 meters, led by Thompson, who posted the win in her collegiate track & field debut, with a run of 3:14.82. Junior Daijanique White (Hartford, Conn.) and freshman Alena Masterson (Pelham, N.H.) followed in third (3:19.55) and fourth (3:20.07), respectively.

Sophomore Alyssa Harris (Billerica, Mass.) earned her way into the final of the 60-meter dash, after finishing fifth in the preliminary heats, with a time of 8.15 seconds. She shaved the time down just a smidge in the final, to post a mark of 8.11 seconds and finish third. Harris added a sixth-place finish in the 200-meter dash (26.85) as well.

The Ravens return to action on Friday and Saturday, Dec. 7-8, when they travel to New Haven, Connecticut, for the Elm City Challenge, hosted by Southern Connecticut State University.

For more information on Franklin Pierce Athletics, please visit the official website of Franklin Pierce Athletics (https://www.fpuravens.com). 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 & field apparel can do so at the Department of Athletics' online store (https://www.fpuravens.com/store).