BOSTON, MA (Dec. 1, 2007) – Sophomore Jacqui Barrett (Woburn, MA) placed second in the shot put and sophomore Olivia Thibou (Boston, MA) took fifth in the triple jump to lead the UMass Lowell women’s track and field team at the Northeastern University Husky Winter Carnival Saturday at the Reggie Lewis Center.

The season-opening meet drew athletes from all NCAA divisions throughout the Northeast.

Barrett threw the shot put 41 feet, 8.5 inches and placed behind only senior Patricia Harrison of Northeastern, who won the event with a throw of 42’ 9.0’’.

Barrett was one of three UML throwers among the top 10 places as freshman Bethany Staiti (Barre, MA) placed seventh with a distance of 37’ 3.0’’ and senior Katie Banfield (Billerica, MA) 10th with a throw of 36’ 7.0’’.

Thibou was the top Division II-III athlete in the triple jump with a distance of 36’ 0.75’’.

Several UML freshmen made an immediate impact, led by Jenna Lapachinski (Turners Falls, MA) who took seventh overall (in a field of 49 athletes) and second among Division II-III sprinters in the 400 meter dash in 1:01.40 seconds. Senior Erin Doherty (Lawrence, MA) placed 12th in 1:02.84 while sophomore Vanessa Austin (Haverhill, MA) placed 14th in 1:03.39.

Freshman Chrissy Silvar (Fitchburg, MA) also ran well in the sprints, placing 14th in a field of 133 in the 200 meter dash in 26.95.

Freshman Jayson-Ann Wright (Bronx, NY) took 11th overall and tops among II-III runners in the 800 meters with a time of 2:24.54.

Freshman Lauren Raimondi (East Longmeadow, MA) placed 13th in the high jump, clearing 5’ 0.0’’ even. Sophomore Taryn Murphy (New Boston, NH) and senior Gillian Mundry (Methuen, MA) shared 14th place with a height of 5’ 0.0’’, though on more chances.

Mundry also placed 14th in the long jump (16’ 7.0’’) while Thibou placed 20th (16’ 3.25’’).

UML enters the Harvard Invitational next Saturday before returning to the winter slate on Jan. 13 at the Dartmouth Indoor Relays.