NEW LONDON, Conn. --The Salve Regina University women's track and field team competed this weekend at the NEWMAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships, finishing 9th out of 10 teams with 13 points, the highest point total in program history at the conference championship.

Junior Olivia Tacconi had perhaps the most impressive individual weekend of anyone in the field. She opened competition Friday in the 100 meter trials, finishing 2nd across all heats with a time of 12.24 seconds. On Saturday, she returned to the finals and improved again, running a new school record of 12.18 seconds to take 2nd place and score 8 points for the team. Tacconi then turned around and ran another school record in the 200 meters, crossing the line in 26.16 seconds.

Senior Kelsey Chiasson was one of the stories of the weekend, competing in the seven-event Heptathlon on Friday and coming away with an 8th place finish and one point for the team. Across the two days of the Heptathlon, Chiasson set personal bests in the 200 meters, long jump, javelin throw, and 800 meters. She also set the NEWMAC Championship Heptathlon shot put record with a throw of 10.82 meters. Not content to stop there, Chiasson returned to competition on Saturday in the shot put and finished 7th, adding two more points to the team total.

Freshman Gianna Stanley got the scoring started for the Seahawks with an 8th place finish in the hammer throw on Friday, contributing one point to the team total. The 4x100 meter relay team of sophomores Jocelyn Howell and Sophia Molfetto, senior Angelina Regels, and junior Olivia Tacconi also bounced back from a disqualification the previous weekend at Trinity to finish 8th and score one more point for the team.

Beyond the scorers, the Seahawks also saw a number of personal best performances across the weekend from sophomore Christia Assi in the steeplechase, junior Kallie Saalfrank in the shot put, freshman Marcy Hotaling in the hammer throw, senior Meena Goswami in the 100 meters, sophomore Jocelyn Howell in the 100 meters, and sophomore Kaleigh Nelligan in the pole vault.

The success of this weekend was about more than just the performances on the track and in the field. Every member of this team played a role in what we were able to accomplish. The energy and support that the athletes who were not competing brought to the venue created an environment where our competitors could go out and perform at their best, and that matters more than people realize.

A special thank you is also in order for our seniors, who demonstrated incredible leadership throughout this entire season. They will be sorely missed, but they are leaving this program in a far better place than they found it, and that is a legacy worth celebrating.

"While the majority of our team is now finished for the season, a small number of athletes will continue their season at the New England Division III Outdoor Championship next weekend at Springfield College," said head coach Andrew Furst. "I can't wait to see what fast times and explosive performances are in store."

On Friday, May 1, the Seahawks travel to day one of the New England Division III Championship, hosted by Springfield College.