Stonehill Third at Minuteman Invitational


Patrick Fullerton won the 1500-meter run at UMass with an NCAA provisional qualifying time. (PHOTO BY Gerry Wall) 

Fullerton wins 1500-meter run with NCAA provisional qualifying mark
Thomas wins high jump and provisionally qualifies for NCAAs in hurdles

AMHERST, Mass. (April 17, 2011) – The Stonehill College men's track and field team notched a third place finish at the Minuteman Invitational, hosted by the University of Massachusetts, at the UMass Track & Field Complex on Saturday.

Stonehill collected 101.50 points to finish third in the team standings behind host UMass-Amherst (184.50) and Central Connecticut State University (104). The Skyhawks bested NE-10 rival American International (64 points) who placed fifth.

Senior All-American Patrick Fullerton (Bradford, Mass./Haverhill) topped a field of 37 competitors in the 1500-meter run with his first place time of 3:50.70 to provisionally qualify for the NCAA Division II Championships in Stanislaus, Calif., for the second-straight year at this event. He was just under two seconds off his own school-record pace. Senior Daniel Fidler (Carlisle, Mass./Concord-Carlisle) was 11th in 4:07.78, while sophomore Timothy Johnson (Thomaston, Conn./Thomaston) was 12th with a time of 4:07.79 and freshman Scott Waller (Andover, Mass./Andover) was 13th in 4:08.04 to lead a group of eight Skyhawks to compete in the event.


Corey Thomas provisionally qualified for the NCAA Championships in the 110-meter hurdles and also won the high jump for the third-straight week.

Sophomore All-American Corey Thomas (Brookline, Mass./BC High), the indoor national high jump champion for Division II, won the high jump for the tenth time in 11 meets this year and for the third-straight week during the outdoor season with a height of 6-feet, 6.25-inches. Thomas was also second in the 110-meter high hurdles with an NCAA Championship provisional qualifying time of 14.53-seconds, just 0.11-seconds behind UMass senior Tyler Cotto. It marks the second-straight year Thomas has provisionally qualified for both events at the NCAA Outdoor Championships after reached the high jump standard last weekend.

Freshman Xavier Harris-Dixon (New Bedford, Mass./New Bedford) was third in the hurdles in 15.27-seconds. He was also 13th in the 400-meter hurdles in 1:03.87.

Sophomore Kevin McCann (Monroe, Conn./Masuk) was second in the pole vault with a school-record height of 14-feet, 3.25-inches, which matched the winning height also reached by UMass senior Sean Busch. However, Busch reached the height in fewer attempts to take first place honors. McCann broke his own school record of 14-feet even set at the Bryant Invitational two weeks ago. Classmate Luke Byrnes (Glen Head, N.Y./Chaminade) placed third with a height of 13-feet, 3.50-inches. McCann was also seventh in the 100-meter dash in 11.59-seconds.

Stonehill's 4x400-meter relay team finished third out of eight teams with a time of 3:25.74. Running for the Skyhawks were sophomore All-American Sean Hanlon (Georgetown, Mass./St. John's Prep), junior John Driscoll (Revere, Mass./Revere), sophomore Michael Miela (Foothill Ranch, Calif./Trabuco Hills) and senior All-American Nathan Morse (Whitinsville, Mass./Holy Name).


Sophomore Kevin McCann broke his own school record in the pole vault.

Morse also finished fifth in the 400-meter dash with a time of 50.14-seconds. Driscoll was fifth in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 56.77-seconds, while Miela was ninth in 58.05-seconds. Hanlon led 13 Skyhawks in the 800-meter run with his time of 1:56.82 to finish seventh. Freshman Justin Blaszczyk (Saint James, N.Y./Smithtown) was eighth in 1:57.29, while senior All-American Daniel Pilz (Newington, Conn./Newington) was ninth in 1:57.49.

Other Stonehill performances of note:

Sophomore John Gelcius (Greenwich, Conn./Greenwich) placed second in the javelin with a throw of 173-feet, 11-inches. Freshman Taylor Viotto (Washington, N.J./Warren Hills) placed seventh at 157-06. Gelcius was also 15th in the hammer throw with a distance of 121-feet, 2-inches.

 

Freshman Stephen Leonard (Chatham, N.J./Chatham) finished second in the 10,000-meter run with a time of 33:28.36.

 

Freshman George Georgaklis (Westwood, Mass./Westwood) placed fourth in the 100-meter dash in 11.51-seconds.

 

Junior Daniel Kincade (Brookfield, Conn./Brookfield) placed fifth in the hammer throw with a distance of 159-feet, 3-inches. Senior Patrick Fanning (Rockland, Mass./Rockland) was ninth at 140-feet, 11-inches, while freshman Thomas Yates (Baldwin, Maine/Cheverus) was tenth at 135-05.

 

Sophomore Brandon Dunham (Plattsburgh, N.Y./Plattsburgh) was fifth in the long jump with a leap of 19-feet, 8-inches. He was also seventh in the triple jump with a distance of 36-feet, 8.50-inches.

 

Senior Mark White (Milton, Mass./Xaverian Brothers) placed seventh in the discus throw with a distance of 130-feet, 10-inches. Fanning was tenth at 118-feet, 10-inches, while senior Daniel Newton (Reading, Mass./Reading Memorial) was 11th at 118-04.

Stonehill is back in action next weekend when it travels to Princeton University to participate in the Larry Ellis Invitational on Friday and Saturday. Stonehill will host the Skyhawk Invitational the following weekend on Friday, April 29, at W.B. Mason Stadium at 4 p.m.