NEW ORLEANS, La. — The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) announced its list of NCAA Division II All-Region honorees, featuring four student-athletes from the Saint Anselm College women's track & field team. Junior Harmony Marquez (Rutherford, N.J.) and sophomore Sophia Morin (Brunswick, Maine) each earned spots for their efforts in the javelin. They were joined by freshman Reese Nicolosi (Pelham, N.H.) for her time in the 400m hurdles, and senior Ava O'Donnell (Raynham, Mass.) for her performance in the 1500m.
"It's an honor to have any of our kids recognized for their talent in this region," said assistant coach Lexi Neuwirth, who specializes in sprints, hurdles, and the pole vault. "This is only our second year competing as a team, and to see us receiving this kind of recognition with such a young group is really great to see."
Marquez has been a regular on the podium in the javelin, finishing third at both the SNHU Spring Invitational (37.99m) and the Ed Daniels Invite (39.60m). She also earned points at the Northeast-10 Outdoor Championships, finishing fourth with a throw of 36.35m. Marquez is also a key contributor to the women's basketball team. Neuwirth discussed the difficulty of the winter-to-spring sport transition, stating, "When Harmony comes in and transitions into track, she has to retrain the muscles that she doesn't ordinarily use playing basketball. Muscle memory is huge, and her muscles had no problem remembering."
Neuwirth continued, "(Marquez) went out for the first meet and showed the conference what she is made of. Despite a small injury that Harmony faced this season, she wouldn't let it stop her from doing her best. Whether it was trying something new or taking the rest that she needed, she was still able to show up and give it her all. We are excited for this next year for Harmony and can't wait to continue to see her improve."
Morin also shined in the javelin, taking first place at the SNHU Spring Invitational (39.73m) and the Merrimack College Alumni Classic (38.00m). She secured silver at the NE10 Outdoor Championships with a career-best throw of 42.05m. Morin also posted career highs in the hammer throw (45.06m) and shot put (11.33m), earning points in both events.
"Sophia shows up to practice every day and takes all the coaching advice that Coach Pope gives her," said Neuwirth, who also praised Morin's leadership. "(Sophia) never breaks anyone down. She keeps her teammates up and helps them perform their best every day while also trying to make herself better. She consistently asked how she could improve, and it definitely showed this year. Sophia is going to have a great throwing career here at Saint Anselm, and nothing is going to get in her way of being the best."
Nicolosi worked closely with Neuwirth this season. "Reese came in this year very bubbly and excited to get hurdling. She would ask me all the time in preseason, 'Can we do some hurdle drills or something, Coach?' Coach (Peter) Early and I originally planned to have her focus on the 100m hurdles, seeing how well she was progressing from indoor to outdoor. But then we remembered that she ran the 300m hurdles a couple of times in high school, and since the 400m hurdles was a relatively weak event in the conference, we thought—why not let her try it? We didn't know quite what to expect because she had been training as a short sprinter, not a long sprinter, but she completely exceeded our expectations."
Exceed them she did. Nicolosi not only found success in the 400m hurdles but dominated the event this season. She earned second-place finishes in each of her first three collegiate runs. At the NE10 Outdoor Championships, she qualified for the final with the top preliminary time of 1:04.71, then shaved two seconds off with a career-best, gold medal-winning run of 1:02.61.
"Reese hurdles with such grace and determination," said a proud Neuwirth. "Once we saw how she did in that first meet, a fire was lit under her and she wanted to keep doing it. She asked me at every meet after that if she could race in it again to try to better her time. To see her push through two days of competition at conference—winning the 400m hurdles and then running the 4x400 relay—this athlete is going to be one to watch in the coming years. Nothing is going to get in her way."
O'Donnell has been a pillar of the women's track & field program since its inception and also competed in cross country before the team launched. "Ava's four years here at Saint Anselm have been so remarkable," said Neuwirth. "She has shown great strides in cross country, killed it in indoor, and continued to prove herself in outdoor. When Ava was talking to Coach Brian about the game plan for outdoor conference, he suggested the 800m, 1500m, and 5000m. Now, to anyone else, they would have said, 'No thank you,' but Ava was the exact opposite."
Run them all she did—scoring points in each event. She set career bests and earned two bronze medals in the 800m (2:19.04) and the 1500m (4:41.03), with the latter earning her a spot on the All-Region team.
"That takes so much grit," Neuwirth said. "We could not be prouder of her. She was a huge asset to this team, and we will dearly miss her next year."
With many returners next season, the Saint Anselm women's track & field team is poised to continue its upward trajectory. Neuwirth emphasized the coaching staff's guiding philosophy: "We focus on not just athletic performance, but personal growth on and off the track. We want to build a well-rounded team with strong work ethics and positive attitudes."
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