Stonehill Picked Second as it Gets Set to Host 2014 NE-10 Outdoor Track & Field Championships


Senior Xavier Dixon looks to claim his second 110-meter hurdles title this weekend at the NE-10 Championships.

Skyhawk look to ride home cooking to first NE-10 Outdoor title at W.B. Mason Stadium Friday and Saturday

NE-10 Outdoor Track & Field Championship Webpage

EASTON, Mass. (May 1, 2014) – W.B. Mason Stadium will serve as host for the Northeast-10 Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships for the second time in five years as the Stonehill College men's track & field program seeks its first outdoor championship at the event which runs Friday and Saturday.

Admission for this weekend's Championships is $5 for adults, $4 for senior citizens and children and $1 for students of participating Northeast-10 Conference institutions with valid ID on Friday. Saturday's admission is $7 for adults, $4 for senior citizens and children and $1 for students of competing NE-10 institutions with valid ID. Two day adult passes will also be available on Friday for $10.

Friday's schedule gets underway with the men's decathlon at 10:30 a.m., followed by the start of the women's heptathlon at 11 a.m. Friday's field events get underway with the men's hammer throw at 2 p.m., with the track events starting with the men's 100-meter dash trials at 3:30 p.m. Saturday's events open with the men's decathlon and men's discus throw at 10 a.m., the women's heptathlon at 10:30 a.m., and the men's 4x100-meter relay starting the track events at 12:30 p.m. Live results for both days will be available through both the Northeast-10 and Stonehill athletics websites.

Stonehill, which has finished in the top three as a team for the last eight NE-10 Outdoor Championships since the 2005 event was canceled due to weather, with three runner-up finishes. The Skyhawks have been picked second in the NE-10 pre-championship coaches' poll released today behind 11-time defending outdoor champions Southern Connecticut State University, which captured the 2013 NE-10 Indoor Championship ahead of the Skyhawks. Southern Connecticut State earned nine of the ten first place votes and 81 points, while Stonehill collected the remaining first place vote and 72 points. American International College (66 points) is picked third, with Adelphi University and Franklin Pierce University rounding out the top five with 50 points each.


Senior Taylor Viotto seeks his first All-Conference performance in the javelin throw. (PHOTO BY Bob Blanchard)

Stonehill, ranked second in this week's U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Division II East Regional computer rankings, placed third at the 2013 NE-10 Outdoor Championships after posting back to back runner up finishes in 2012 and 2011. The Skyhawks placed third at the 2010 event held at W.B. Mason Stadium. Stonehill won the 2012 NE-10 Indoor Championship, marking the program's lone track and field conference title.

Stonehill features a pair of provisional qualifiers for the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships, hosted by Grand Valley State University, in Allendale, Mich., later this month with several Skyhawks looking to make a qualification push over the next two weeks leading up to the Championships.

Senior Xavier Dixon (New Bedford, Massaschusetts/New Bedford), a seven-time All-Northeast-10 Conference performer over his career, is one of Stonehill's two NCAA provisional qualifiers and is seeded third for the 110-meter high hurdles this season with his personal-best time of 14.44-seconds at the UMass Minuteman Invitational on April 12, which ranks 20th nationally in Division II. Dixon has earned All-NE-10 honors for the event all three of his seasons at Stonehill, winning the 2012 title at Southern Connecticut State (14.75-seconds). He will run in the first of two qualifying heats on Friday at 4:45 p.m., with the top eight advancing to Saturday's final at 1:10 p.m.

Senior Taylor Viotto (Washington, New Jersey/Warren Hills) has provisionally qualified for the NCAA Championships in the javelin throw and is seeded second for the event which is scheduled for Friday at 3:30 p.m. He has produced a personal-best distance of 190-feet, 7-inches at the 49th Colonial Relays, hosted by William & Mary, in April that ranks 33rd nationally and has posted a previous personal-best fourth place finish at the 2011 NE-10 Championships to go with an eighth place showing in 2012 and sixth place last spring.

Senior Stephen Leonard (Chatham, New Jersey/Chatham) and junior Bryan Wilcox (Plantsville, Connecticut/Southington) are among the favorites once again in the 10,000-meter run which is scheduled for Friday at 5:15 p.m. Wilcox is the defending champion for the event after taking the title at American International last spring in a meet record time of 32:08.89, while Leonard finished third last year and the duo finished fourth and fifth in 2012. Leonard is seeded second this weekend with a time of 31:47.93 at the Colonial Relays and Wilcox is seeded third at 31:56.59 also at the Colonial Relays. Senior Scott Waller (Andover, Massachusetts/Andover) is seeded seventh in the event (33:14.20), while freshman Joseph Santo (Newburyport, Massachusetts/Newburyport) is seeded ninth (33:18.10).


Junior Bryan Wilcox is the defending NE-10 champion for the 10,000-meter run, setting a meet record last spring.

Junior All-American Nick Staley (Medway, Massachusetts/BC High) is the top seed for the high jump, which is scheduled for Saturday at 1:30 p.m., with his season-best height of 6-feet, 11.5-inches at the New England Indoor Championships in February. He has earned All-Northeast-10 honors each of his first two seasons with second place finishes, posting a height of 6-9.75 at last year's event.

Junior Teague Grubel (Phoenix, Arizona/Shadow Mountain) and freshman All-American Matt Baldasare (Mansfield, Massachusetts/Mansfield) look to lead Stonehill in the sprints this weekend. Both are entered in the 100-meter dash which opens with preliminary heats on Friday at 1 p.m. Grubel is seeded third in the 100-meter dash with a personal-best time of 10.93-seconds at the Holy Cross Invitational, while Baldasare is seeded fifth at 11.01-seconds.

Grubel is also entered in the 200-meter dash, with prelims slated for Friday at 6:45 p.m., and seeded fourth with his time of 22.19-seconds at during the indoor season. Grubel has one previous top five at the NE-10 Championships with a fifth place effort in the 100m in 2012.

Baldasare is seeded second for the 400-meter dash scheduled for Saturday at 1:30 p.m., with his time of 49.18-seconds in winning the event at last weekend's Skyhawk Invitational. Junior Robert Smith (Woburn, Massachusetts/Woburn Memorial) is seeded fourth in the 400 with his personal-best time of 49.31-seconds at the New England Indoor Championships. He is also seeded 11th in the 200-meter dash (22.60-seconds).

Junior All-American Daniel Zawalich (Paxton, Massachusetts/St. John's of Shrewsbury) is seeded third in the 1500-meter run, which is scheduled for Friday at 4 p.m., with his time of 3:53.84 at the Skyhawk Invitational last weekend. He finished fifth in the event at last year's NE-10 Championships to go with an eighth place effort in the 800-meter run. Zawalich is seeded fifth for the 800 this weekend, which is scheduled for Saturday at 2:10 p.m., with a time of 1:54.34 during the indoor season.


Junior All-American Nick Staley is the top seed for the high jump on Saturday. (PHOTO BY Bob Blanchard)

Junior Patrick Cooney (Douglaston, New York/Archbishop Molloy) is seeded third in the 800-meters with his indoor time of 1:52.46. He will be looking to break through into All-Conference position after back to back fourth place showings in 2012 and 2013.

Stonehill is seeded in the top three of all three relay events, led by a top seed for the 4x800-meter relay scheduled for 7:15 p.m., on Friday. The Skyhawks have placed in the top three for the event each of the last three years, winning the relay in 2011. Stonehill is seeded second for the 4x400-meter relay, scheduled for Saturday at 4 p.m., and third for the 4x100-meters to be run Saturday at 12:30 p.m. The Skyhawks won the 4x400 in 2011 and then finished sixth last spring, while they turned in a third place effort in the 4x100 in 2012.

Junior Daniel Cormier (Methuen, Massachusetts/Methuen) and sophomore Mason Griffin (Wellesley, Massachusetts/Wellesley) are seeded fifth and sixth, respectively, in the shot put which is on the schedule for Saturday at 1 p.m. Cormier posted a school-record distance of 49-feet, 9-inches, at the Skyhawks Invitational last weekend, breaking a 15-year old school record, while Griffin also topped the previous school mark with his throw of 49-7.75.

Cormier is also seeded fourth in the hammer throw scheduled for Friday at 2 p.m., with a distance of 152-feet, 9-inches at the Colonial Relays. Sophomore Morgan Johnson (West Newbury, Massachusetts/St. John's Prep) is seeded fifth at 142-09, while Griffin is seeded seventh at 139-01. Cormier placed sixth in the hammer at the 2013 NE-10 Championships and seventh in the shot after placing fourth for that event in 2012.

Senior Paul Cina (Pembroke, Massachusetts/Pembroke) is seeded third in the 5000-meter run scheduled for Saturday at 3:20 p.m., with his time of 14:53.95 set during the indoor season. He placed fourth in the event at the 2013 NE-10 Championships after taking third in 2012. Senior Trent Fontanella (Pelham, New Hampshire/Bishop Guertin) is seeded fifth at 15:00.01, having posted sixth place finishes in the event in 2012 and 2011.

Senior Nate Webber (Atkinson, New Hampshire/Central Catholic) is seeded third in the 3000-meter steeplechase scheduled for Saturday at 12:40 p.m., with a time of 9:40.60. He place third in the event as a freshman in 2011 and then sixth in 2012. Junior Seamus McEvoy (Longmeadow, Massachusetts/Longmeadow) is seeded fifth at 9:52.43.

Sophomore Andrew Hastings (Broad Brook, Connecticut/Hebron Academy) is seeded fifth in the discus throw, scheduled for Saturday at 10 a.m., with a distance of 143-feet, 4-inches at the Bridgewater State Bears Invitational in late March. He placed sixth for this event at the 2013 NE-10 Championships.

Senior Alex Willgoos (Newington, Connecticut/Newington) looks to improve on his third place finish for the decathlon, which will be conducted over both days starting at 10 a.m., from the 2013 NE-10 Championships. He is seeded fourth this weekend and holds the school record for the event with his 5,674 points at last year's NE-10 Championships.

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