Track Erases Three School Records At Valentine's Invitational

Andrew Chalmers broke a school record that had stood untouched for six years.

The University of Hartford track and field teams competed at the Boston University Valentine’s Invitational, a two-day event that kicked off with the women’s events on Friday and concluded with the men on Saturday. 

For the Hartford women, senior Marisa Poleto garnered a Hartford school record in the 800-meter run, finishing in 2:21.04 and placing 62nd out of 138 competitors. Also turning in a strong performance on the track was the 4x400-meter relay team. Natalie Bonham, Nicole McClintock, Grace Lawal and Priscilla Appiagyei combined for a season-low time of 3:57.87, good for 11th place out of 38 squads.

In the field events, Brittney Lawson and Alisha Beeman recorded top 15 performances in their respective events. In the weight throw, Lawson’s season-best mark of 14.86-meters ranked eighth while Beeman reached a height of 1.58 meters in the high jump, tying for 14th place.

Andrew Chalmers, a junior, highlighted the men’s performances when he erased his third school record of the indoor season, this time in the mile run. Chalmers bettered the six-year-old school record by more than two seconds, clocking in at 4:17.51 while scoring a 51st-place finish out of 197 racers.

In the 200-meter dash, Anderson Emerole took home the highest finish for the Hartford men when he turned in the 12th best time in the 200-meter dash in 22.07, a season-best finish. The junior then went on to anchor the 4x400-meter squad, which also consisted of Jared Casey, Christopher Carr and Warren Lane, that finished 17th out of 41 teams while recording the season's best time (3:20.46).

Junior Wayne Lawrence also grabbed a school record when he crossed in 2:34.80 in the 1,000-meter run, finishing 46th overall. Lawrence outran former teammate Mike DuPaul’s program record of 2:35.24 set during the 2009 indoor season.

Kyle Cholewa led the way in the field events on Saturday when he notched a 15th place finish with his hurl of 13.58-meters in the weight throw.

The Hawks return to Boston on Friday, February 18, for the America East Championship, a two-day event held at Boston University.