Women’s Track & Field Opens Season with Suffolk Relays

BOSTON – Suffolk women's track & field hosted the season-opening Suffolk Relays at the Reggie Lewis Center on Saturday, December 6. The Rams delivered strong performances across the board, highlighted by several top finishes and personal bests.

RAMS RECORDS

• Hilma Ortega recorded her fastest times in a Rams uniform in both the 60 meters (8.14) and the 60-meter hurdles (9.60).
• Devyn Battistoni posted a personal-best time in the 60 meters with 8.65.
• Kaylie Groom turned in a career-high performance in the 400 meters, finishing in 1:01.92.
• Sophia DiNanno set a new collegiate top mark in the 800 meters with a time of 2:35.48.
• Averie Denelle excelled in multiple events, notching top marks in the 60-meter hurdles (10.61) and the high jump (1.55 meters).
• Sasha Helfgott-Waters reached a new best in the long jump, clearing 4.26 meters.
• Divinety Johnson achieved a top mark in the weight throw with 12.16 meters.
• Emma Withers posted her best effort in the weight throw at 10.37 meters.

RAMS RUNNERS

• In the 60 meters, Ortega ran in 8:14 and Lucy Nicholson in 8:24, both placing in the top seven in finals, while Rhoni Johnson (8:28), Kelsie Dessaps (8:57), Battistoni (8:65), Olivia Coyne (8:80), and Aida Bellal (9:00) also competed strongly in the sprint field.
• The 200 meters featured Nicholson leading Suffolk with 27:88, followed by Ortega (28:48), Dessaps (28:93), Battistoni (29:34), Coyne (29:63), and Bellal (30:02). Nicholson's top-eight finish highlighted Suffolk's depth in the sprints.
• Katelyn Porter ran 44:97 in the 300 meters.
• Kaylie Groom recorded a second-place finish in the 400 meters with a time of 1:01:92 while DiNanno ran 2:35:48 in the 800 meters, finishing third.
• In the 60-meter hurdles prelims, Ortega (9:60), Bailey Stoddard-Baughman (10:16), and Denelle (10:61) advanced to finals where Ortega placed second (9:73), Stoddard-Baughman fifth (10:08), and Denelle seventh (10:78), showing strong hurdle performances across the team.

JUMPERS JIST

• Dessaps (4.78), Dootchina Dorielan (4.65), and Sasha Helfgott-Waters (4.26) competed in the long jump, with Helfgott-Waters also posting a 9.29-meter effort in the triple jump for sixth place.
• Denelle cleared 1.55 meters in the high jump to finish second.

FIELDERS FACTS

• The Rams shot putters posted solid distances, led by Hannah Laderoute at 9.59 meters, with Johnson reaching 9.43 meters and Emily Millan throwing 8.10 meters.
• In the weight throw, Johnson had the top mark at 12.16 meters, followed by Laderoute at 10.99 meters, Withers at 10.37 meters, Abby MacMillan at 7.06 meters, and Millan at 6.83 meters.

YOU'RE NEW HERE

• Several Rams made their collegiate debuts, Johnson in the 60 meters, Dessaps in the 60 meters, 200 meters, and long jump, Coyne in the 60 meters and 200 meters, Laderoute in the shot put and weight throw, Millan in the shot put and weight throw, and Abby MacMillan in the weight throw.
• Others made their first appearance as a member of the Rams, including Nicholson in the 60 meters and 200 meters, DiNanno in the 800 meters, Porter in the 300 meters, and Dorielan in the long jump.

WHAT'S NEXT?
Suffolk returns to competition in the New Year on January 10, 2026, at the USM Open, held at the Costello Field House in Gorham, Maine.