NEW HAVEN – The University of New Haven men’s and women’s outdoor track and field teams competed at the 2009 Yale University Springtime Invitational on Sunday in New Haven. The women’s team was led by junior Shannon Gagne who won both the 100 and 200 meter dashes, while Kevin Downing by winning the same two races.

Downing broke the UNH record and won the 100 meter with a time of 10.46 seconds, beating his previous record of 10.62 seconds. That time puts him just .01 seconds away from automatically qualifying for the NCAA Championships next month. The freshman also broke his previous UNH record and won the 200 meter with a time of 20.96 seconds. With that time, he automatically qualifies for the NCAA Championships in San Angelo, Texas at Angelo State on May 21-23.

Other highlights for the men’s team include a 10th place finish in the 400 meter dash by Sylvestre Maldonado with a time of 50.85 seconds, an 11th place finish by Alaric Best in the 800 meter run with a time of 1:56.88 and a fourth place finish in the 4×100 relay with a time of 44.80.

Gagne became the first UNH sprinter to run under 12 seconds and won the 100 meter dash by posting a time of 11.96 seconds, beating her previous UNH record of 12.06. The junior also won the 200 meter dash with a time of 24.42 seconds.

Lauren DiMitruck also ran well with a 10th place finish and a time of 4:59.86 seconds in the 1500 meter run. Angela Colandrea finished in the ninth place in the 100 meter hurdles with a time of 16.19 seconds, while she finished in seventh place in the 400 meter hurdles with a new UNH record time of 68.82 seconds. Melissa Tempesta finished in second in the 3000 meter steeplechase with a time of 12.09.73. Freshman Alesha Chu Foo finished sixth in the high jump, while the UNH 4×100 relay team finished in sixth with a time of 49.25 seconds.

The Chargers return to action on Saturday, May 2 when the team travels to the Northeast-10 Conference Championship meet at UMass-Lowell.