BOSTON – Senior Melissa Anastasakis of the Elon University women's track and field team secured the program's first-ever individual event champion at the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Indoor Championships on Sunday, March 8, at the Boston University Track and Tennis Center.
 
Anastasakis closed out her indoor season by taking gold in the one-mile run at the ECACs. The Hillsdale, Ontario, native ran a time of 4:48.91 in the finals of the event.
 
In the 3,000-meters, Scolasticah Kemei was Elon's top finisher after she came across the line with a time of 9:42.12 and was 10^th overall. Teammate Hannah Preeo was 13^th with a time of 9:48.40.
 
The Phoenix's 4x800-meter relay team of Stephanie Lair, Gabriela Varisco de Oliveira, Anna Twomey and Anastasakis finished third overall. The quartet ran the second-fastest time in school history with a time of 8:58.92.
 
In the distance medley relay, the Phoenix posted a time of 12:02.52 to break into the program's top-five performance list. The group of Ashley Irby, Aliya Barrows, Emily Smith and Leandra Lorenz finished 16^th overall.
 
In the women's shot put, Kristine Strazdite led the Phoenix with her mark of 43' 0.25" (13.19m) and was 18^th overall. Skylar Barthelmes was 22^nd with a toss of 41' 9.25" (12.73m).
 
Elon ended the meet 12^th overall – a 12-spot improvement from last year's standings – and scored 24 points as a team. Towson won the team title with 63 total points, edging out Connecticut, who was the runner-up with 59.75.
 
On Deck
The Phoenix shifts its attention to the outdoor season as Elon will split for meets at the Charlotte Classic and at the High Point Invite on March 20-21.