Innamorati earns All-East Region honors for the seventh time over his career for pole vault. (PHOTO BY SportsPix)

Taxter and Vercollone lead the Skyhawks list with two awards each
Innamorati earns All-Region honors for seventh time over his career

USTFCCCA Announces NCAA Division II Indoor All-Region Awards

EASTON, Mass. (March 1, 2018) – 12 members of the Stonehill College men's track & field program, ranked third in the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) East Region rankings, have earned a combined 14 All-East Region honors from the USTFCCCA, the organization announced this week. The awards recognize each region's top five performers in individual events and top three teams in relay events.

Juniors Lucas Taxter (Readville, Massachusetts/Xaverian Brothers) and Stephen Vercollone (Pembroke, Massachusetts/Pembroke) lead the group for Stonehill by earning All-East Region honors in two events. The pair are both members of Stonehill's 4000-meter distance medley relay, which will compete at the NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field Championships in Pittsburg, Kansas, next weekend, that turned in an All-East Region performance of 9:51.59 in finishing second at the New England Indoor Track & Field Championships on February 2. Taxter runs the mile anchor, while Vercollone the 800-meter leg, with classmate Alexander Demeule (Merrimac, Massachusetts/Pentucket Regional) running the 1200-meter lead leg and freshman Hampton Boyd (Holliston, Massachusetts/Holliston) the 400-meter leg to also collect All-Region honors with the relay.

Taxter also earns All-East Region honors for the one mile run, posting a personal-best time of 4:08.24 at Boston University's David Hemery Valentine Invitational on February 10, while Vercollone posted an All-East Region performance in the 800-meter run with his school-record time of 1:51.19 at the BU Last Chance meet on Sunday. The All-Region honors are the fourth for Vercollone and Taxter over their careers, while Demeule picks up his third and Boyd his first All-Region honor.

It marks the second-straight season Stonehill has posted 14 All-East Region performances in track & field after 11 student-athletes picked up 14 All-Region awards for outdoor track & field last spring.

Senior Anthony Innamorati (Clinton, Massachusetts/Clinton) earns All-Region honors for the seventh time over his career in the pole vault as he cleared a school-record height of 15-feet, 3-inches at Sunday's BU Last Chance meet, marking the first Stonehill pole vaulter to clear 15-feet in program history. Classmate Jimmy Murphy (Mansfield, Massachusetts/Mansfield) earns All-Region honors for the fourth time over his career, posting a personal-best time of 8:34.75 for a first place finish in the 3000-meter run at Tufts University's Inaugural Branwen Smith-King Invitational on January 27.

Seniors Stefan Balestra (Lincoln, Rhode Island/Lincoln), who posted a school-record distance of 56-feet, 2-inches to place second at the Northeast-10 Conference Championships on February 17, Jordan Sullivan (Sound Beach, New York/Miller Place) and Kenny Vinacco (Scituate, Rhode Island/Scituate) all picked up All-East Region honors for the second time in their careers. Senior Sam Bradford (Bedford, Massachusetts/Bedford), junior Xavier Young (Barnegat, New Jersey/Barnegat) and freshman Ethan Famiano (Warwick, Rhode Island/Bishop Hendricken) round out Stonehill's All-Region performers for the first time in their careers. 

Balestra	Boyd
Bradford	Demeule
Famiano	Innamorati
Murphy	Sullivan
Taxter	Vercollone
Vinacco	Young

Stonehill's Men's Indoor Track & Field All-Region performers:

Stefan Balestra, Senior (Lincoln, Rhode Island/Lincoln)
Weight Throw (56-feet, 2-inches/NE10 Championships) – school-record 

Hampton Boyd, Freshman (Holliston, Massahusetts/Holliston)
4000-meter Distance Medley Relay (9:51.59/New England Championships) – NCAA qualifier 

Sam Bradford, Senior (Bedford, Massachusetts/Bedford)
5000-meter run (15:08.62/NE10 Championships) – personal-best 

Alexander Demeule, Junior (Merrimac, Massachusetts/Pentucket Regional)
4000-meter Distance Medley Relay (9:51.59/New England Championships) – NCAA qualifier 

Ethan Famiano, Freshman (Warwick, Rhode Island/Bishop Hendricken)
60-meter high hurdles (8.49-seconds/URI Coaches' Tribute Meet) 

Anthony Innamorati, Senior (Clinton, Massachusetts/Clinton)
Pole Vault (15-feet, 3-inches/BU Last Chance Meet) – school-record 

Jimmy Murphy, Senior (Mansfield, Massachusetts/Mansfield)
3000-meter run (8:34.75/Branwen Smith-King Invitational) – personal-best 

Jordan Sullivan, Senior (Sound Beach, New York/Miller Place)
High Jump (6-feet, 4.25-inches/New England Championships) 

Lucas Taxter, Junior (Readville, Massachusetts/Xaverian Brothers)
One Mile Run (4:08.24/David Hemery Valentine Invitational) – NCAA Provisional Qualifier
4000-meter Distance Medley Relay (9:51.59/New England Championships) – NCAA qualifier 

Stephen Vercollone, Junior (Pembroke, Massachusetts/Pembroke)
800-meter run (1:51.19/BU Last Chance Meet) – NCAA Provisional Qualifier/school-record
4000-meter Distance Medley Relay (9:51.59/New England Championships) – NCAA qualifier 

Kenny Vinacco, Senior (Scituate, Rhode Island/Scituate)
5000-meter run (15:01.36/NE10 Championships) – personal-best 

Xavier Young, Junior (Barnegat, New Jersey/Barnegat)
Shot Put (49-feet, 11.75-inches/NE10 Championships) – school-record 

Stonehill's 4000-meter distance medley relay team has qualified for the NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field Championships, hosted by Pittsburg State University in Pittsburg, Kansas, next week. The event will run on Friday, March 9.

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