Stonehill Fourth at Holy Cross Invitational


Junior All-American Nick Staley won the high jump with a height of 6-feet, 4-inches. (PHOTO BY Bob Blanchard)

Staley wins high jump, while Skyhawks post 11 top five finishes 

WORCESTER, Mass. (April 19, 2014) – Stonehill College, ranked second in this week's U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Division II East Regional rankings index, placed fourth at the Holy Cross Invitational, hosted by College of the Holy Cross at Hart Track today.

Stonehill compiled 89 points for the afternoon to finish in fourth place in the team standings. The University of Maine won the team title with 304 points, while host Holy Cross was second with 115 points and the University of Massachusetts finished third (102 points).

Junior All-American Nick Staley (Medway, Mass./BC High) won the high jump with a height of 6-feet, 4-inches, to lead a list of 11 top five finishes on Saturday. Senior Xavier Dixon (New Bedford, Mass./New Bedford) finished second out of 16 entries in the 110-meter high hurdles with a time of 14.54-seconds, while junior All-American Daniel Zawalich (Paxton, Mass./St. John's of Shrewsbury) placed second out of 29 entries in the 800-meter run with his time of 1:55.30.

Sophomore Mason Griffin (Wellesley, Mass./Wellesley) and junior Dan Cormier (Methuen, Mass./Methuen) placed third and fourth respectively for the shot put. Griffin logged a distance of 46-feet, 5.25-inches for his third place finish out of 11 throwers, while Cormier was fourth with a distance of 44-6.75. Sophomore Andrew Hastings (Broad Brook, N.Y./Hebron Academy) finished sixth with a throw of 42-0.50, while freshman Carmen Cilfone (Falmouth, Mass./Falmouth) with seventh at 41-7.00.


Junior Teague Grubel posted a personal-best time of 10.93-seconds to finish fourth in the 100-meter dash.

Cormier was also sixth in the hammer throw with a distance of 149-feet, 4-inches. Hastings was also ninth for the discus throw with a distance of 125-feet, 6-inches, while sophomore Morgan Johnson (West Newbury, Mass./St. John's Prep) placed tenth with a throw of 120-03.

Junior Teague Grubel (Phoenix, Ariz./Shadow Mountain) and freshman All-American Matt Baldasare (Mansfield, Mass./Mansfield) ran fourth and fifth, respectively in the 100-meter dash. Grubel posted a personal-best time of 10.93-seconds for his fourth place finish, while Baldasare finished in 11.01-seconds for fifth out of 15 sprinters.

Grubel and Baldasare also ran fourth and fifth in the 200-meter dash. Grubel finished in 23.24-seconds for his fourth place finish, while Baldasare posted a time of 23.36 for fifth and Dixon took seventh out of 20 entries in 23.53-seconds.

Stonehill also fared well in two relays, placing second in the 4x400-meter with a time of 3:24.80 and third in the 4x100 in 42.66-seconds. 


Senior Xavier Dixon placed second in the 110-meter hurdles. (PHOTO BY Richard Orr)

Other Stonehill highlights include:

Senior Tyler Moules (Billerica, Mass./Billerica) finished sixth out of 15 runners in the 400-meter dash with a time of 50.20-seconds.

Senior Taylor Viotto (Washington, N.J./Warren Hills) placed sixth out of 14 throwers in the javelin throw with his distance of 166-feet, 4-inches. 

Senior Trent Fontanella (Pelham, N.H./Bishop Guertin) ran sixth out of 31 entries in the 1500-meter run with a time of 4:01.92. Senior All-American Justin Blaszczyk (Saint James, N.Y./Smithtown) finished tenth in 4:04.68. 

Junior Daniel Gordon (Plymouth, Mass./Plymouth North) finished 17th in the 5000-meter run with a time of 16:04.93. 

Stonehill is back in action on Friday when it hosts its annual Skyhawk Invitational at W.B. Mason Stadium for its Purple & White event and Senior Night starting at 4 p.m. Stonehill is also the host of the 2014 Northeast-10 Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships at W.B. Mason Stadium on Friday and Saturday, May 2-3.

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