BOSTON, Mass. - After the first day of competition at this year's New England Division III (NED3) Indoor Championships, Coast Guard women's track & field is currently eighth out of 21 teams after accruing 18 points.
Claire Semerod (Centennial, Colo.) led the way for the Bears by winning the 5,000 meters, crossing the finish line in 17:15.77;
Lauren Mellon (Falls Church, Va.) was fourth in the event by running 17:40.94.
Also scoring points was the 4x200 relay squad of
Ella Besant (Morehead, Ky.), team captain
Grace Flynn (Severna Park, Md.),
Alaina Stonebraker (Sandy, Utah), and
Makenna Topp (Anthem, Ariz.), who placed sixth in the event and set a new school record with their collective time of 1:43.50. The new mark broke the previous record of 1:45.54 set in 2020 by
Michelle Kwafo '23,
Anna Beck '20,
Kevilyn Frazer '23, and
Adora Lawrence '20.
Mid-distance action featured
Riley Thorburn (Chelsea, Mich.) posting a new personal record of 1:39.25 in the 600 meters and placing ninth in the event. The distance medley relay team of
Hannah Edwards (Highland Village, Tex.),
Millie Wymbs (Salisbury, N.C.),
Kate Stebbins (Chapin, S.C.), and
Mia Mastrogiovanni (Manahawkin, N.J.) were also ninth in their event by running 12:45.26.
In the field events, Maureen Hammond (Downington, Pa.) was ninth, as well, in the shot put after throwing 11.96 meters (39' 3"), while Mollie Brinker (Wilmington, N.C.) was 17th in the pole vault by jumping 3.22 meters (10' 6.75"). In the pentathlon, Tara Jessen (Signal Mountain, Tenn.) was another ninth-place finisher for the Bears, scoring 2,875 points. Jessen set a personal record in the 60-meter hurdles by running 9.90, which was the fourth fastest time in the event on the school leaderboards; in the high jump, she cleared the bar at 1.39 meters (4' 6.75"); in shot put, she tossed it 8.79 meters (28' 10.75"); in the long jump, she leapt 4.42 meters (14' 6"); and in the 800 meters, she ran 2:23.01.
The NED3 Championships continue tomorrow with the second and final day of competition, with the first events starting at 11 am.
