This content originally appeared on SNHUPenmen.com
Sophomore Alanna Murphy (Nashua, N.H.) captured both the 60-meter hurdles and the triple jump on Saturday, as the Southern New Hampshire University women’s track and field team took part in the Middlebury Invitational. The Penmen finished seventh overall with a total of 53 points.
Murphy breezed through the 60-meter hurdles with a new personal record time of 9.30 seconds. She topped her previous best of 9.34, which was set just last weekend, and outpaced her next closest competitor by .19 seconds. In the triple jump, Murphy traveled a distance of 10.88 meters (35 feet, 8.5 inches) to secure 10 points for the Penmen.
Junior Ashley Elder (Bristol, Conn.) also took home an individual win, as she finished first overall in the shot put. Elder’s toss of 12.89 meters (42 feet, 3.5 inches) was first among all competitors, and she also tallied six points in the weight throw with a heave of 13.82 meters (45 feet, 4.25 inches), which was good enough to slot her third overall.
Southern New Hampshire racked up a combined 12 points in the 500-meter run, as sophomores Jill Couto (Newton Junction, N.H.), Megan Eugene (Everett, Mass.) and Natalie Gallagher (Windham, N.H.) all finished within the top-seven of the event. Couto led the way in 1:24.54, which was the third-fastest time and garnered six points. Eugene followed in fifth with a time of 1:29.22 for four points, and Gallagher checked in just behind her in 1:39.42 for two points.
The Penmen 4×400-meter relay team produced four points Saturday, as it cruised to a fifth-place finish. The contingent of Eugene, senior Maddie Bardier (Pembroke, N.H.), Murphy and Couto navigated the track in 4:23.09, which was the top NCAA Division II time in the event. Sophomore Jill Dieterich (Commack, N.Y.) capped the Southern New Hampshire scoring in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:32.02, which was eighth overall and grabbed a point.
The Penmen continue their schedule Friday (February 2) when they head to the New England Indoor Track & Field Championships at the Reggie Lewis Center in Boston.
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