Women’s track and field breaks records at Jim Sheehan Invitational

By Taylor Kimmell Asst. Sports Editor The Framingham State Rams traveled to Fitchburg State April 4 to compete in the Jim Sheehan Invitational, placing 8th of 27 teams. The team found great success during the meet, with three records broken and an inaugural appearance in the program in the pole vault event. Head Coach Mark Johnson said, “Excitingly, every record on the board now is from 2023 or later.” FSU was led by a first place finish by junior Kate Buban in the 10K. Her performance in this event not only allowed Buban to qualify for NCAA Regionals later this season, but broke the program's previous record in the event. The previous record, according to Johnson, was held “by Casey McAuliffe with a 39:23.78. She set that in 2023 as the first Ram to qualify for the NCAA regional championship.” “Kate’s new record is 39:03 and change, and has her currently ranked 60th in the nation in the event [for D3] which is wild,” he added. Buban said, “It felt really rewarding to break the 10K record because it was something I didn’t imagine being able to do after coming into this track season. I was coming off a stress fracture from cross country.” Buban’s recent performances earned her the title of MASCAC Runner of the Week April 7, making her the first athlete from Framingham to receive the honor. Freshman Emma Foley placed 7th and set a new record with 17.15 in the 100 meter hurdles, breaking the record junior Jamie Moniz set during the 2025 season. Foley said it shocked her to break the hurdle record. “When I finished running, I felt an immediate relief since I was so nervous. Then I found out that I broke the record, and I was really excited.” Senior Sarah Campbell was FSU’s sole competitor in both the 400 meter dash and the 3000 meter steeplechase, placing 26th and 4th, respectively. The Rams had two runners competing in the 800 meter - senior Lydia Marunowski, who came in 21st place with a time of 2:48.05, and junior Justinne Quinanola, who came in 24th place with a time of 2:50.35. In the 1500 meter, senior Meghan Johnston came in 23rd place at 5:30.88, followed by freshmen Molly Oravec in 42nd place at 6:38.32 and Grace Bovill in 45th place at 6:53.30. Sophomore Abigail Flanagan placed 4th in the 5K, finishing at 21:27.88. After her was sophomore Alison Hood in 9th with a time of 23:37.69. Rounding out the running events were Framingham’s 4x100 and 4x400 relay teams. After breaking the program’s record at the opening meet this season, the 4x100 team of Child, freshmen Lily Gouvia and Reagan Laprade, and junior Cassandra Toth finished with a time of 53:69, off their current record by mere milliseconds. In the 4x400, senior Natalie Grimaldo, sophomore Reese Neale, freshman Sarah Bashore, and Marunowski ran a 4:44.50. In the field, a record was broken in the long jump and one was set in the pole vault. Foley broke her second record of the meet with her performance in the long jump, clearing 4.8 meters and placing 10 out of 39 athletes. Foley said after fouling her first two attempts, she was “nervous that I wasn’t going to even have a mark. But on my last jump I was able to break the school record. “It honestly feels so surreal that I have broken records this early on in my career. I owe it all to my amazing coaches and friends that support me through everything. I’m so incredibly grateful and happy to be a part of this team,” she added. Placing third out of 32 overall in the javelin was Moniz with a 33.14 meter throw. Sophomore Ashley Caputo placed highest for FSU in both discus, throwing 21.75 meters, and hammer throw, throwing 20.73 meters. In shotput, junior Cali Leger was the Rams’ top finisher, earning 10th place with a 9.58 meter throw. Caputo placed 19th with a 8.94 meter throw. Laprade made the first appearance in the pole vault in program history, placing 5th and clearing 2.45 meters. Laprade said, “I've been pole vaulting since my freshman year of high school. I'm so happy that I was given the opportunity to vault here at Framingham, and so honored to be the first one.” During the meet, Laprade also competed in the 100 meter dash and hurdles, 4x100 relay, and triple jump. She said, “It means a lot to me to be able to compete in five events. I’m honored to have the opportunity to compete for FSU.” Laprade said her primary goal is to “PR in all my events in these upcoming meets and place well in my events at MASCACs.” The Rams travel to Regis College April 10 to compete in the Regis Spring Classic. Buban said, “We have great potential to not only better ourselves, but also the program. We are a very young team and I am excited to see what else is accomplished.”