The season was different, but the results were the same for jumper Ali Sax '09 at last Saturday's Skyhawk Invitational at Stonehill College. After making it to the NCAA Championships for the first time in her career during the indoor track and field season, Sax placed in four different events in the outdoor track and field team's season opener, earning the women's team 19 of its 26 points in the meet.

The women's team finished eighth out of 15 teams in a meet that featured Division I and II teams. The University of Rhode Island won the women's meet with 190 points.

The men's team also competed last Saturday, finishing 12th out of 13 teams with 12 points. Stonehill won the meet with 158 points.

Sax, who finished 10th in the Division III NCAA Championships in the triple jump March 14, placed second in the triple jump last Saturday, earning her team eight points. Sax jumped 11.24 meters, finishing behind rookie Mickey Jusme of Wheaton College.

"[Sax is] tremendous; she has moved to a different level this year," coach Mark Reytblat said. "She did a [personal best] in the long jump, and she did extremely well in the triple jump."

Sax also placed in two different sprint events. She finished fifth in the 100-meter hurdles, running in 16.20 seconds, earning the Judges four points.

Sax also aided on the Judges' 4-by-100-meter relay squad, which finished seventh with a time of 51.20 seconds. The Judges' relay team consisted of Jessica Marsh '12, Kate Henry '09 and Lily Parenteau '12.

"I was really happy with [the relay]," Sax said. "We were running against the wind, and the handoffs we were very nervous about, [but] we have been practicing for two weeks on it, and we knew each other well enough to adjust."

Sax also took fourth in the long jump with a leap of 5.33 meters, a personal record that earned the Judges five points.

Lucia Capano '12 started her season on a positive note as well, finishing fourth in the women's triple jump with a leap of 11.06 meters, earning the Judges five points.

"[Capano] did well; she was steady," Reytblat said. "She's getting better and better and more consistent than she used to be. She is huge for the team."

Suzanne Bernier '10 completed the field scoring for the Judges, finishing in a three-way tie for fifth place in the high jump at 1.52 meters, good for one point.

Beth Pisarik '10 rounded out the scoring for the women in the 1,500-meter run, finishing with a time of 4:47.94, earning one point.

The men's team finished with 12 points last Saturday, led by an emerging group of sprinters. After struggling in the sprinting events during the indoor season, the Judges' 4-by-100-meter sprint relay team finished sixth. The quartet of Charlie Pino '12, Mingkai Lin '12, Pat Gregoire '10 and Stanley Xuelin '12 finished in 46.37 seconds, earning three points for the Judges.

After not running last semester, Aaron Udel '10 finished fifth in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:03.72, earning four points.

Another sprinter, Xuelin, finished sixth in the 100-meter sprint with a time of 11.93 seconds good for three points.

Reytblat said he recognizes the potential in Xuelin and hopes he will blossom in the spring season.

"[Xuelin] is our fastest sprinter; we just have to wait for better weather and conditions, and hopefully he will run faster," Reytblat said.

Chris Brown '12 rounded out the scoring for the men's team, finishing seventh in the 1,500-meter race to earn the Judges two points. Brown ran in 4:07.54, seven seconds behind sophomore Andrew MacIsaac of Boston College, the race's winner.

Reytblat thought the team performed decently for its first meet of the season, saying the performance was "not bad for the first meet in hard conditions. Overall it was OK."

The men's and women's teams will compete at the George Davis Invitational next Saturday in Lowell, Mass. They will then compete at the Massachusetts Institute of?Technology co-ed Invitational April 18.