Cowles Leads Wellesley Track & Field With Steeplechase Victory at Aloha Relays

LEWISTON, Maine -- Sophomore Grace Cowles (Yarmouth, Maine) took first place in the 3000m Steeplechase to lead Wellesley College track & field on Saturday afternoon at the Aloha Relays at Bates College.

The Blue finished the meet in fifth place, with 47 points, 14.5 points ahead of sixth place Husson. Bowdoin came away with the first place finish out of the eight schools.

Cowles finished the steeplechase in a time of 10:59.64, the eighth fastest time in NCAA Division III this season. Cowles now ranks among the top-ten on the NCAA Qualifying list in the event and has also qualified for the NE DIII Championships and the NEICAAA Open New England Championships. After Cowles brought home the ten first place finisher points in the steeplechase, sophomore Ava Shipman (Makawao, Hawaii) made her debut in the event, placing third in 12:33.14 and earning six team points.

Senior Helen Andersen (Madison, N.J.) placed second in the hammer with a distance of 41.54m, setting a new school record in the event while becoming an NE DIII Qualifier. Senior Cathy Chen (Parsippany, N.J) continued to set the bar higher on her school record in the 100m hurdles with a time of 15.56, good for a third place finish, earning six team points. Also scoring two team points in the event was sophomore Rachel Berets (Belmont, Mass.) with a fifth place finish in 16.41, which is also a NE DIII Qualifying time. Berets was not done for the day, as she also placed fifth in the long jump with a distance of 4.86m.

The Blue pair of first year Maya Bradbury (Freeport, Maine) and sophomore Samara Shaz (New York, N.Y.) both set new PR's in the 1500m, with Bradbury securing a team point with a sixth place finish in 5:01.07 and Shaz just behind her at 5:05.51. Rounding out the track highlights was the 4x100 relay team of Chen, first year Ava Yokanovich (Stillwater, Minn.), sophomore Aiyanna Smith (Brooklyn, N.Y.) and sophomore Hana Sugioka (Newbury Park, Calif.), as they placed fourth, earning four points, at 52.39.

Rounding out the field event performances, Andersen placed fourth in the shot put, earning four team points at a distance of 11.28m, another NE DIII Qualifying distance. Junior Keer Sun (Pine Brook, N.J.) had a good showing in the high jump, at 1.45m, earning her a third place finish. Sophomore Abby Parakoyi (Houston, Texas) also set a new PR at 25.82m in the hammer throw.

Wellesley will now turn their attention to the NEWMAC Championships, which are scheduled to start April 27 at 10:30AM on the campus of Springfield College.