Saints Open Season at SNHU Invite, Robinson Sets New Triple Jump Program Record

MANCHESTER, N.H. - Saints junior Desiree Robinson (New Haven, Conn.) made program history in Emmanuel outdoor track and field 2024 season opener, setting a new mark in the triple jump on Saturday afternoon at the Southern New Hampshire University Spring Invitational, hosted by SNHU.

Robinson originally set the record on her fourth attempt, hitting 11.13 meters in the event. Ultimately, that leap wouldn't stand as the record as just minutes later, on her fifth attempt, the new program record was solidified following a jump of 11.31 meters (37' 1.25"), breaking the old mark by over a foot-and-a-half. 

Robinson's success spilled over into her two other events as she finished second in the long jump with a distance of 5.05 meters (16' 7"), coming up just 4.5 inches short of the program record in the event. On the track, Robinson added another second-place finish, this time in the 400 meters, completing the race in 1:02.62.

Numerous other Saints posted top-five finishes on the day, including third places for junior Krysten Rafferty (Patchogue, N.Y.) and sophomores Paula Salazar (Cumberland, R.I.) and Reilly Slusser (White River Junction, Vt.). Rafferty placed third in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 1:17.05. Salazar found herself in a familiar place with a podium finish in the pole vault, clearing the bar at 2.35 meters (7' 8.5"). Slusser scored a third-place spot in the long jump with a distance of 4.79 meters (15 8.75"). Slusser added fifth place in the 200 meters with a time of 27.89 seconds.

Junior Cynthia Brito (Whitman, Mass.) and first-year Amy Proulx (Littleton, Mass.) were fourth in the triple jump and 400 hurdles, respectively. Rounding out the top-five finishes on the day were fifth-place spots for sophomore Ava Reise (Newport, R.I.) in the 3000-meter steeplechase and first-year Kason Huynh (Mission Viejo, Calif.) in the long jump.

On the men's side, sophomore Pierre Paul Labossiere (Port-au-Prince, Haiti) turned in a pair of third-place finishes with a triple jump of 12.28 meters (40' 3.5") and a high jump of 1.78 meters (5' 10"). He added a fifth-place mark in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 1:04.22. 

Sophomore Luke Wiley (East Wareham, Mass.) posted an eighth-place finish in the long jump with a distance of 5.91 meters (19' 4.75"). Rounding out the top-10 finishes for the Saints men were junior Justin Elkin (Fairfax, Va.) placing ninth in the javelin with a throw of 37.05 meters (121' 7"), and first-year Nicholas Ware (Rehoboth, Mass.) finishing ninth in the 5000-meter run after a time of 16:44.26.

The Saints return to the track next Friday, April 5, for the Regis Spring Invite at 2:00 p.m. They follow that trip with the Jonathan Tymann Invitational at Gordon College on Saturday, April 6.