NORTHAMPTON, Mass. –   Westfield State senior Lauren Gilderdale (Great Barrington, Mass.) won a pair of events and the Owls punctuated the meet with off the pace wins in the 4x800 and 4x400 relay as the Owls won the 2020 MASCAC indoor track and field championship meet at the Smith College Fieldhouse on Saturday.

 

The title was the fourth straight for Westfield.

 

The Owls had individual champions in eight events.  Gilderdale opened the meet with a win in the 20-lb. weight throw, with a season best toss of 17.25 meters – nearly a full two meters farther than her closest competitor.  She added a second medal in the shot put with a top mark of 12.94, dominating her closest competition by 2.5 meters.

 

From there the Owls went to work in the distance events.  Amy O'Sullivan (Greenfield, Mass.) was the MASCAC Champion in the 5000 meters in 18:38.

 

Freshman Grace Phair (Stockbridge, Mass.) won a pair of events, taking the mile run (5:08.03) and the 3000 meters (10:23.67).  In both the mile and the 3000, Phair and O'Sullivan stalked pace-setting Jenise Madden of Bridgewater State.  Both races were nearly carbon copies, as Phair pulled away in the final lap and a half to take the wins, while O'Sullivan kicked past Madden on the final turn in both races to take second place honors and add valuable points to the Westfield State totals.

 

Other winners for the Owls included Taylor White (Westfield, Mass.) in the 600 meters, Maggie Damotta (Windsor Locks, Conn.) in the 400 meters, Mackenzie Connor (Chelmsford, Mass.) in the pole vault.

 

With the 4x800 relay and the 4x400 relay the final two events of the day, Westfield provided a dramatic finish to both.  Trailing early and throughout the 4x800, anchorwoman Abigail Wager (Middleboro, Mass.) made up a 30 yard deficit in the final 150 meters to hit the tape 16/100ths of a second ahead of Bridgewater.

 

In the 4x400, it was a similar story as the Owls trailed throughout, but Damotta took over at the end of the backstretch and pulled away to secure the win and leave no doubt about the meet title.

 

Westfield finished with 197 points, while Worcester was second with 167, Bridgewater third with 160, and Fitchburg State a distant fourth with 55 points.

 

It was the first stand-alone MASCAC Indoor Championship meet.  For more than a decade the MASCAC championship was scored within the New England Alliance meet, which served as the championship for both the MASCAC and Little East Conference before being discontinued this year.

 

In a change in the schedule, the Owls will be idle next weekend, before travelling to the New England Division III Championship meet at Middlebury College in Vermont for Feb,. 28 and 29.