Feb 24, 2007

Artesani sets school record at NYU Fastrack Invitational

GORHAM, Maine -- Freshman Emily Artesani (Orono, Maine) of the University of Southern Maine Huskies women's indoor track and field team set a school record in one event Friday night, and moved into second place on the program's the all-time ranking list in another, while competing at the NYU Fastrack Invitational held at the 168th Street Armory in New York City.

Artesani broke the school record in the 200 meters with her time of 26.48 seconds. She broke the old mark of 26.84 set by Kim Brewer in February 2002. In addition to breaking the 200-meter record, Artesani moved into second place on the Huskies' all-time top ten list in the 400 meters with her time of 1:00.26. Only record holder Angela (Whelchel) Lally has run the event faster, setting the school record in 1991 with a time of 59.72.

The Huskies received some outstanding performances in the non-team scoring meet. Senior Caterina Riitano (Sangerville, Maine/Piscataquis Comm.) placed fifth in the weight throw with a personal best throw of 47-7. That mark is just two-and-a-half inches shy of the school record.

Junior Christa Hutchinson [Gorham, Maine/Falmouth(Mass.) became the second USM women's runner to run a sub 2:20 in the 800 meters, finishing the event with a time of 2:19.95. Hutchinson was seventh among the 31 runners competing. Junior Hattie Landry (Acton, Maine/Wells) finished fifth in the 60-meter hurdles. Landry earned a spot in the final with her time of 9.74 in the trials, then ran a 9.65 in the finals.

Senior Melissa Bellemore (Manchester, N.H./West) tied for sixth place in the pole vault by clearing 3.15 meters (10-4). Sophomore Emily Poliquin (Lisbon Falls, Maine/Lisbon) competed in two events, placing 13th in the long jump with a jump of 4.96 meters (16-3 1/4) and seventh in the triple jump with a mark of 10.69 meters (35-1).

The Huskies will finish their regular season indoor schedule next Friday and Saturday (March 2-3) when they travel to Wesleyan University in Middletown, Conn., for the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division III Indoor Track and Field Championships. Competition gets underway on Friday at 2:00 p.m. with the men's pentathlon.