Women’s Indoor Track & Field Opens Year at Suffolk Relays

BOSTON – Suffolk women's indoor track & field got its 2023-24 campaign underway Saturday at the Suffolk Relays at the Track at New Balance. It was the second straight season the Rams put on their hosting hat to lift he lid on its campaign. This year 25 students in blue-and-gold were featured across 13 events in the season-opening event. 

REGIONAL RAMS
Three Rams earned the right to compete at the NCAA Division III New England Regional Championships in the season-opener.

• Amanda Walden punched her ticket in the 60 (8.04) and 200 (26.04), respectively. The senior captain has earned a place at New England's in the 60 in back-to-back seasons, and three straight years in the 200.  
• Emily Concepcion raced to a regional ticket in the 400 with a time of 1:00.45, good for third in the 33-runner field. The qualification is the second time in as many years the junior earned the nod. The effort on Saturday was a 10th of a second off her personal-best (1:00.35), which she achieved at the 2023 New England DIII Regional Championships. 
• Ellie Davis, who raced her second to last race as a Ram, regional-qualifying 18:30.98 in the 5000, which was good for fifth out of the 22 runners. 

RAMS RUNNERS
Suffolk's contingent at the meet was sprinter heavy. 

• Walden highlighted the Rams with a pair of top-10 finishes. She claimed third in the 200 with a New England qualifying time of 26.04 and took 10th in the 60 with an 8.04, also a New England qualifying performance. 
• The three Rams in the 400 all found their way in the top 10 in Concepcion (1:00.45), Kaylie Groom (1:03.22) and Alyssa Rodriguez (1:03.62), who finished third, fourth and 10th, respectively.  

PERSONAL BESTS

• A pair of career-highs were rewritten on Saturday, both came in the 400 by Groom (1:03.22) and Rodriguez (1:03.62).

RELAY RAMS

Suffolk had two teams in the 4x200 Relay. The upperclassmen group of Kaylie Groom, Alyssa Rodriguez,Concepcion and Walden took fourth behind a time of 1:48.21. JJ Conteh, Hilma Ortega, Catherine Madden and Daruia, meanwhile, logged a 1:53.87 their first time racing as a team.  

YOU'RE NEW HERE
Suffolk saw 10 new faces make their collegiate debuts Saturday in Conteh (60, 300), Sofia Barboza-Lind (60, 200), Dauria (60, 300), Ortega (60 hurdles, 200), Ainsley Dion (200, triple jump), Evelyn Lansing (high jump, long jump), Devyn Battistoni (pole vault), Divinety Johnson (9.31), Maddie Moore (7.81) and Sharaden Caldwell (weight throw).

In addition to the Rams true freshmen, juniors Catherine Madden and Annabel Veale and senior Isabelle Slocum all raced the 60 for the first time in their collegiate careers. 

WHAT'S NEXT?
Suffolk returns to the Track at New Balance next Saturday, Dec. 10 for the semester-ending Beacons Invitational hosted by UMass Boston.