Mansfield, Massachusetts, freshman All-American part of two All-New England relays
EASTON, Mass. (May 14, 2014) – Stonehill College freshman All-American Matt Baldasare (Mansfield, Massachusetts/Mansfield) has been named the Northeast-10 Conference men's track Rookie of the Week for the third time this season by the league office.
Baldasare, who also earned the weekly honor during the outdoor season on April 22 to go with one indoor award on February 10, collected a pair of All-New England honors as part of two Stonehill relay teams at the 2014 New England Outdoor Track & Field Championships, hosted by Westfield State University, on Friday and Saturday. He ran the anchor leg for Stonehill's 4x100-meter relay which finished sixth out of 19 teams in 42.16-seconds, just 0.07-seconds shy of the school record. Baldasare also ran the lead leg in 48.8-seconds for the Skyhawks 4x400-meter relay which finished eighth in a school-record time of 3:15.22, surpassing the previous mark of 3:17.65 set at the 2007 New England Championships at Dartmouth College. He also qualified for New England's in the 400-meter dash and placed 17th out of 32 entries in Friday's prelims in 49.91-seconds.
Baldasare earned All-America honors as part of Stonehill's 4000-meter distance medley relay team that finished seventh at the NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field Championships in Winston-Salem, N.C., in March, running the 400-meter leg. He has now collected three All-New England awards in his freshman year, adding a DMR award during the indoor season to his two relays last weekend. Baldasare earned All-Northeast-10 honors with his second place finish in the 400-meter dash (48.67-seconds) and with the 4x400-meter relay (3:18.08) at the NE-10 Outdoor Championships two weeks ago, also adding a third place finish with the 4x100 (42.85) and placing tenth in the 100-meter dash (11.20).
Baldasare was part of the Skyhawks 4x400-meter relay that won the NE-10 Indoor Championship in February with a time of 3:24.15. He has earned five U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) All-East Region honors over his first collegiate season, including three outdoor awards. In addition to his two NE-10 Rookie of the Week nods, Baldasare has been part of three NE-10 Relay of the Week efforts – one with the 4x400 and two with the DMR.
Stonehill, ranked second in this week's U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Division II East Regional computer rankings, will be represented by senior hurdler Xavier Dixon (New Bedford, Massachusetts/New Bedford) at next week's NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Allendale, Michigan, May 22-24.
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