Thomas a Double Winner to Lead Stonehill at Jay Carisella Invitational - Stonehill

Sophomore All-American Corey Thomas provisionally qualified for nationals in both the high jump and 55-meter high hurdles with his winning performances on Saturday. (PHOTO BY Richard Orr)

Sophomore All-American wins and provisionally qualifies for nationals in high jump and hurdles in Skyhawks opening event

BOSTON, Mass. (December 6, 2010) – Sophomore All-American Corey Thomas (Brookline, Mass./BC High) was a double-winner to lead the Stonehill College men's indoor track and field team in its season-opening meet at the Jay Carisella Invitational, hosted by Northeastern University, at the Reggie Lewis Track & Athletic Center this weekend.

Thomas, an indoor and outdoor All-American for the high jump as a freshman, picked up right where he left off in a spectacular freshman campaign by provisionally qualifying for the NCAA Division II Championships in March in both the high jump and 55-meter high hurdles. He started his day as the top qualifier in the hurdles with a time of 7.59-seconds, a time he later matched in the final to defeat unattached runner Dominic Devaud (7.78) in the final by nearly two tenths of a second. Thomas completed his double by placing first in the high jump by clearing 6-foot, 11.75-inches (2.13-meters), just .02-meters shy of automatically qualifying for nationals.

Freshman Xavier Harris-Dixon (New Bedford, Mass./New Bedford) shined in his collegiate debut in the hurdles by placing third in the final behind Thomas and Devaud with a time of 7.87-seconds after qualifying fifth-fastest with a time of 7.86-seconds in the prelims.

Kevin McCann

Sophomore Kevin McCann (Monroe, Conn./Masuk) placed sixth in the pole vault with a school-record height of 13-feet, 11.25-inches. He surpassed the previous record of 13-5.5 set by himself and classmate Luke Byrnes (Glen Head, N.Y./Chaminade) at the 2010 NE-10 Indoor Championships last February.

Junior Pak Lul (Portland, Maine/North Yarmouth Academy) finished eighth (out of 55 competitors) in the 400-meter dash with a time of 49.91-seconds. Junior John Driscoll (Revere, Mass./Revere) was 23^rd in 52.00.

Stonehill's 4x400-meter relay team turned in a solid showing by placing fifth with a time of 3:25.75-seconds.

Other Stonehill highlights include:

Freshman Justin Blaszczyk (Saint James, N.Y./Smithtown) finished ninth (out of 23 runners) in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:01.09, while classmate Tyler Moules (Billerica, Mass./Billerica) was 15^th in 2:03.32.

Sophomore Sam Spencer (Seekonk, Mass./Seekonk) finished tenth (out of 60 competitors) in the mile run with a time of 4:28.64, while classmate Timothy Johnson (Thomaston, Conn./Thomaston) placed 17^th in 4:33.22.

Senior Nathan Morse (Whitinsville, Mass./Holy Name) placed 11^th (out of 34 runners) in the 500-meter dash with his time of 1:06.94. Freshman Thomas Banks (Peabody, Mass./Bishop Fenwick) finished 21^st in 1:08.79, while sophomore Ramses Monteiro (Peabody, Mass./Peabody) was 24^th in 1:09.88.

Sophomore Colin Prior (Georgetown, Mass./St. John's Prep) finished 11^th out of 83 competitors in the 200-meter dash with his time of 23.10-seconds. Freshman Michael Harris (Danvers, Mass./Danvers) was 39^th in 23.93-seconds and also turned in a 40^th place finish (out of 82) in the 55-meter dash in 6.90-seconds.

Sophomore Todd Sather (Melville, N.Y./Saint Anthony's) placed 14^th in the 1000-meter run with a time of 2:44.88.

Junior Daniel Kincade (Brookfield, Conn./Brookfield) was 19^th in the 35-pound weight throw with his throw of 44-11.00.

Sophomore Ethan Penney (Haverhill, Mass./Haverhill) finished 25^th (out of 65 runners) in the 5000-meter run with a time of 15:53.17. Junior Corey Donahoe (Billerica, Mass./Billerica Memorial) was 39^th in 16:13.41.

Seniors Daniel Newton (Reading, Mass./Reading Memorial) and Patrick Fanning (Rockland, Mass./Rockland) placed 26^th and 27^th in the shot put with distances of 40-05.00 and 40-02.25, respectively.