Falcons Excel At Westfield Invitational

Goba, Murphy and Camara notch DIII qualifying marks for Green and Gold

Northampton, Mass. – The Fitchburg State University women's indoor track & field team returned to action this afternoon, placing second with a total of 82.5 points at the 2023 Westfield Invitational, hosted by Smith College.

The Basics

Meet: Westfield Invite
Location: Smith College Track & Tennis Complex
Scoring: Second Place, 82.5 points

How It Happened

Freshman Skye Goba (Norton, Mass.) led the way for the Green and Gold, placing first overall in the 1000 meter with a DIII New England qualifying time of 3:10.60, while senior Abigail Murphy (Quincy, Mass.) finished second in the 1000 meter with a time of 3:11.08 to also qualify for the DIII NE championships.

Junior Makany Camara (Lowell, Mass.) was also solid for the Falcons after taking top honors in the high jump with a DIII NE qualifying mark of 1.56 meters, while adding a second place effort in the 60 meter hurdles with a DIII New England qualifying time of 9.67 seconds.

In the 600 meter, senior Lilah McAndrew (Old Lyme, Conn.) (1:55.25), junior Joyce Arbia (Sag Harbor, N.Y.) (2:00.67) and freshman Emily Russo (Gardner, Mass.) (2:03.55) finished second, third and fourth to all qualify for MASCAC's, while senior Maria Burnett (Fitchburg, Mass.) turned in a third place time of 2:31.94 in the 800 meter to qualify for the post-season.

Freshman Trinity Hansen (Worcester, Mass.) (1:13.74) and junior Erin Donelan (Fitchburg, Mass.) (1:26.37) placed ninth and tenth respectively in the 400 meter, while Donelan (4th) and newcomer Alanis Velez (Lowell, Mass.) (5th) posted solid times of 11.38 seconds and 11.52 seconds in the 60 meter hurdles.

In the field, junior Olivia Kephart (Rutland, Mass.) posted a pair of post-season qualifying marks in the shot put (8.52M) and the weight throw (9.02M) after placing third and second, while freshman Cassandra Israelson  finished seventh in the shotput (7.44M) and fifth in the weight throw (6.20M).

In the triple jump, Donelan (8.58M) and Russo (8.48M) placed fourth and fifth respectively, while Velez posted MASCAC qualifying mark of 3.72 meters in the long jump with a seventh place effort. The 4x400 meter relay team of Murphy Goba, Burnett and McAndrew round out the top Falcon efforts on the day after taking top honors with a time of 4:52.44

Rounding out the top Falcon efforts on the day were Donelan (11th) and Velez (13th) in the 60 meter hurdles with times of 11.39 seconds and 11.52 seconds.

• Makany Camara 2^nd place 60H (9.67), 1^st place HJ (1.56M)
• Skye Goba 1^st place 1000M (3:10.60)
• Joyce Arbia 3^rd place 600M (2:00.67)
• Abigail Murphy 2^nd place 1000M (3:11.08)
• Erin Donelan 4^th place 60H (11.38), 4^th place TJ (8.58M)
• Olivia Kephart 2^nd place WT (9.02M, 3^rd place SP (8.52M)
• Emily Russo 5^th place TJ (8.48M), 4^th place 600M (2:03.55)
• Maria Burnett 3^rd place 800M (2:31.55)
• Cassandra Israelson 5^th place WT (6.20M)
• Lilah McAndrew 2^nd place 600M (1:55.25)
• 4x400M Relay 1^st place (4:52.44)

Up Next

Falcons return to action next Saturday as they compete at the 2023 Lynn Ruddy Invitational, hosted by Bowdoin College.