University of New Haven senior track star Shannon Gagne injured her hamstring in the warm-up session of New England Track and Field Championships on Saturday morning and had to withdraw from the meet leaving her NCAA titles hopes in jeopardy.
Gagne set the New England record in the 200 meters on Friday with a time of 23.89. She also ran her fastest time of the year in the 400 meters (54.89).
But, wamring up for the 4x100 meter relay on Saturday Gagne pulled up with an injury.
“She said she was in significant pain so we had to pull her out of the meet,” New Haven coach Kevin LaSure said. “We’ll see how she feels tomorrow.
“I really think it just scared her and she’ll be OK but we won’t know for a little while.”
LaSure said he will officially enter her in the NCAA Division II championship which begin on May 26 in Cal-State Stanislaus. He then will have a couple of days to withdraw her name if she can’t compete.
Gagne was recently named the Division II Track and Field Athlete of the Year. She won four Northeast-10 Conference titles after winning three NCAA indoor titles. She was the favorite in the 200-meters and had planned on running in the 400 meters and the long jump.
“I think Shannon is more worried about qualfying for the U.S.A. Championships in June,” LaSure said. “She should be taking things one week at a time instead of looking that far ahead.”
New Haven freshman Ada Udaya also tweaked her hamstring on Saturday but still won the 100 and 200 meter races.