Springfield, MA --- --- The WPI women's track and field team placed 12th overall at the New England DIII Outdoor Championships this weekend at Springfield. The Engineers tallied 29 team points, backed by two New England Champions, two school records, and four total All-New England performances. 

Graduate student Sydney Packard (Georgetown, MA) made the most of her final New England Championship meet, winning the 1,500-meter event in record-breaking fashion, and also anchoring the New England Champion 4x800m relay squad. In the 1500m, she posted a blazing time of 4:29.32, which gives her back the WPI school record and is currently the seventh fastest time in NCAA Division III this season. 

In the 4x800m relay, the foursome of senior Lora Dufresne (Sutton, MA), senior Elise Deshusses (Chapel Hill, NC), senior Grace Hadley (North Reading, MA), and Packard combined for a time of 9:16.72. The squad cruised to victory, out-pacing second-place Conn College by nearly 18 seconds. 

WPI graduate student Amelia Kokernak (Niskayuna, NY) also set a school record at the event, earning All-New England honors in the process. Her time of 10:56.03 in the 3,000-meter steeplechase was good for third place overall and is currently 18th on the NCAA Division III qualifying list this season. 

Senior Abby Calistra (North Attleboro, MA) also tallied an All-New England performance. She took sixth place in the javelin, with a best throw of 36.75m. 

WPI's 4x100m relay team narrowly missed All-New England honors, as the team of freshman Corryn Fisher (Swansea, MA), and juniors Jazmyn Ewing (Worcester, MA), Viv Evans (Newtown Square, PA), and Isabel Hallal (Foxboro, MA), combined for a time of 49.78 seconds to place ninth overall.  

In the 800-meter run, graduate student Nicole Whipkey (Portland, ME) was 10th overall in a time of 2:18.36, while senior Elise Deshusses (Chapel Hill, NC) took 11th in 2:18.50 

Junior Amanda Borden (Sherborn, MA) and senior Dreya Martin (Franklin, MA)  were 10th and 12th in the high jump, both with best efforts of 1.54m. 

After Packard's top performance in the 1,500-meter run, three other Engineers placed in the top-15. Junior Caitlin Guilfoyle (Hastings-on-Hudson, NY) was 13th in 4:48.79, senior Grace Hadley (North Reading, MA) was 14th in 4:49.37, and senior Charlotte Kokernak (Niskayuna, NY) was 15th in 4:50.27. 

Junior Morgan Collins (Hudson, MA) qualified in and competed in three events, including a 10th-place finish in the discus where she threw 36.72m. Collins was also 17th in the hammer throw (38.92m), and 23rd in shot put (10.86m). 

Rounding out the top-15 finishes at the event, freshman Lydia Beers (Norfolk, CT) took 15th in the 100-meter hurdles, going 16.00. 

Qualified student-athletes will next compete at the New England Intercollegiate Amateur Athletic Association Championships on May 12 and 13 at Northeastern.