Balestra broke his own school record in the hammer throw in the Skyhawks first outdoor meet of the season. (PHOTO BY SportsPix) |
Lincoln, Rhode Island, senior finishes first in hammer throw with school-record performance
LOWELL, Mass. (March 31, 2018) – The Stonehill College men's track and field program opened its outdoor season by competing at the University of Massachusetts Lowell Invitational at the Cushing Field Athletic Complex today.
Senior Stefan Balestra (Lincoln, Rhode Island/Lincoln) led the way for Stonehill by finishing first in the hammer throw, breaking his own school record by clearing a distance of 177-feet, 5-inches. He narrowly missed the NCAA Division II provisional qualifying standard and surpassed his previous school mark of 175-06 at the Skyhawk Invitational last April. He also placed seventh in the discus throw at 119-feet, 4-inches. Junior Darren Shi (Yarmouth, Maine/Yarmouth) placed seventh in the hammer throw with a distance of 117-03.
Junior Xavier Young (Barnegat, New Jersey/Barnegat), the NE10 Rookie Field Athlete of the year during the indoor season, opened his debut outdoor season with a third place finish in the shot put and fifth place finish in the discus throw. He posted a distance of 48-feet even, in the shot put after clearing a distance of 121-feet, 11-inches in the discus.
Freshman Hampton Boyd (Holliston, Massachusetts/Holliston) placed second in the 400-meter dash in 50.33-seconds. Sophomore Justin Ireland (Norton, Massachusetts/Norton) finished fourth overall and led three Stonehill sprinters in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.22-seconds. Freshman Desmond Bernal (Warwick, Rhode Island/Bishop Hendricken) placed seventh in 11.60-seconds, while sophomore Collin Kuchachik (Orange, Connecticut/Amity Regional) was 11th in a personal-best 11.84-seconds.
Carney posted a personal-best time in the 3000-meters today. (PHOTO BY SportsPix) |
Ireland was also fourth in the 200-meter dash in 22.98-seconds, while Bernal was seventh in 23.73. Kuchachik also finished fourth in the 110-meter high hurdles in 16.10-seconds.
Junior Lawrence Carney (Lowell, Massachusetts/Lowell) finished 13th out of 31 runners in the 3000-meter run, leading three Stonehill runners in the event with his personal-best time of 8:58.19. Freshman Jeffrey Pichie (Burrillville, Rhode Island/Burrillville) placed 20th in 9:09.94.
Other Stonehill results today include:
Freshman Jack Herndon (Westwood, Massachusetts/Westwood) ran eighth in the 800-meter run in 2:05.27.
Freshman Christopher Lanahan (Mendham, New Jersey/West Morris-Mendham) finished 13th out of 34 entries in the 1500-meter run in 4:10.06, leading a group of three Skyhawks in the event. Classmate Sean Conlan (Melrose, Massachusetts/Melrose) placed 18th in 4:13.47.
Sophomore Alexander Buchan (Norton, Massachusetts/Norton) placed tenth in the javelin throw with a distance of 150-feet, 10-inches.
Stonehill is back in action next Friday and Saturday when it competes at the Colonial Relays, hosted by William & Mary University, in Williamsburg, Virginia.
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