by Tyler Roaix
Fresh off of a men’s championship and a women’s fifth-place finish at the Northeast Conference Championships, Central’s track and field team looked to keep the momentum going at the BU Last Chance Meet.
The meet featured hundreds of student-athletes from universities all around the region, but Central made its presence known throughout the day Sunday.
On the women’s side, the Blue Devils were highlighted by three members who set personal records.
Sophomore multi-event athlete Hailey Rospierski had her best run in the 60-meter hurdles. She set a new personal record in the preliminary run, finishing in 8.86 seconds. She would go on to place fourth, running the final in 8.95 seconds.
Sierra Nesmith continued her strong junior campaign, setting a new personal best in the 400-meter sprint. Her 56.93-second finish was good for a 10th-place finish in the event. Nesmith also performed in the triple-jump, leaping 11.60 meters for a seventh-place finish.
But the spotlight was on Megan Brawner, the distance-runner from Gales Ferry, Connecticut. The sophomore made history in the 1,000-meter run, not only setting a new personal record, but setting a new school record also. Her time of 2:54.34 qualified her for the IC4A/ECAC Championships, just beating out the previous school record of 2:56.67, set by Alasia Greibel in 2012.
Brawner was joined by Dawn Hubbell and McKenna Kilian in qualifying for the IC4A/ECAC Championships next weekend.
The men came off their championship win last week in a big way, tallying five new personal records at BU.
The Blue Devils saw two runners set new personal records in the 800-meter run. Freshman Jonathan Gill ran a time of 1:52.14, just edging out his previous best time he ran last week at the NEC Championships. Junior Adonys Langual came in just behind Gill, running a time of 1:54.92 to set a personal best.
Austin Trainor continued his strong senior season with another fast run in the mile. His time of 4:05.72 was good for third in his heat and also set a new personal record in the process.
The men also performed well in the field events. Sophomore Kevorni Welsh set new personal bests in the long jump and the triple jump with scores of 6.65 meters and 14.31 meters, respectively.
In all, eight men, including Gill and Trainor, joined three women to qualify for the IC4A/ECAC Championships. They will have to travel back up to Boston from March 2 to 4 for that meet. Central will then have to gear up for the NCAA Championships March 9 and 10.