Three All-NE10 Performances Has Men's Track & Field Third after Opening Day of NE10 Championships


Innamorati picked up his seventh All-NE10 performance for the pole vault on Friday. (PHOTO BY SportsPix)

Innamorati, Taxter and Vinacco lead Skyhawks with top three finishes

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (May 4, 2018) – The Stonehill College men's track and field program, ranked No. 2 in this week's U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Division II East Region rankings, sits in third place in the team standings with three All-Conference performances after the opening day of the 2018 Northeast-10 Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships, hosted by Southern Connecticut State University, at Jess Dow Field today.

Senior Anthony Innamorati (Clinton, Massachusetts/Clinton), a two-time event champion, earned All-NE10 honors for the seventh time in his career in the pole vault, including four for outdoor, as he cleared a height of 15-feet, 3-inches, for a second-place finish. Junior Daniel Bomba (Putnam Valley, New York/Iona Prep) and senior Dillon Neumann (Harwinton, Connecticut/Lewis Mills) both earned points for the Skyhawks with their fifth and seventh place showings, respectively. Bomba tied for fifth by clearing a height of 13-feet, 3.50-inches, while Neumann cleared the same height, but needed more attempts.

Junior All-American Lucas Taxter (Readville, Massachusetts/Xaverian Brothers) finished third out of 22 competitors in the 1500-meter run with a time of 3:55.95, earning All-NE10 honors for the fifth time of his career, with his first career outdoor performance. Classmate Riley Dowd (Peabody, Massachusetts/Peabody Veteran's Memorial) scored points for the Skyhawks in the event with a fifth place finish in a season-best 3:57.48, while junior All-American Alexander Demeule (Merrimac, Massachusetts/Pentucket Regional) placed ninth in 3:59.74.


Taxter earned his first outdoor All-NE10 performance, but the seventh of his career overall.

Senior Kenny Vinacco (Scituate, Rhode Island/Scituate) earned All-NE10 honors for the third time in his career, all of which have come this year, with his third place finish out of 23 runners in the 10,000-meter run, posting a time of 32:47.29. He caps an All-NE10 sweep of his events for the weekend, having also turned in the honors during cross county and infoor track & field. Sophomore Chris Gendron (Lowell, Massachusetts/Lowell) finished 12th in 35:34.26.

Rounding out the first day of competition, Stonehill's 4x800-meter relay finished fourth out of eight teams with a season-best time of 7:40.37. Junior David Lockhart (Stoughton, Massachusetts/Stoughton) ran the lead leg in 1:54.64, with sophomore Jeremy Breen (Watertown, Massachusetts/Watertown) running the second leg in 1:56.94 and then freshman Christopher Lanahan (Mendham, New Jersey/West Morris Mendham) completing the third leg in 1:55.71, before junior All-American Stephen Vercollone (Pembroke, Massachusetts/Pembroke) ran the anchor leg in 1:53.09.

Led by its three All-NE10 performances on the opening day, Stonehill sits in third place in the team standings after seven events scored with 34.50 points. Southern Connecticut State leads the way with 76 points, followed by American International College in second with 41. Franklin Pierce University sits fourth with 25 points, while Assumption College rounds out the top five with 22.50.

Junior Joe Connolly (Wilmington, Massachusetts/Austin Prep) and sophomore Justin Ireland (Norton, Massachusetts/Norton) both qualified for Saturday finals for the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes. Ireland qualified first out of 29 entries in the 100-meter dash with his personal-best time of 10.81-seconds, while Connolly finished fifth in a personal-best 10.85. Connolly qualified third out of 31 entries in the 200-meter dash prelims in 21.70-seconds, followed closely by Ireland's season-best time of 21.76-seconds to qualify fourth.


Vinacco posted his third All-NE10 honor of his career tonight.

Freshman Ethan Famiano (Warwick, Rhode Island/Bishop Hendricken) qualified for tomorrow's 110-meter high hurdles final in a season-low 14.99-seconds to place fourth out of 18 entries in today's prelims. Sophomore Collin Kuchachik (Orange, Connecticut/Amity Regional) narrowly missed the final, placing ninth at 15.43-seconds. 

Other Stonehill results include: 

Junior Darren Shi (Yarmouth, Massachusetts/Yarmouth) placed tenth in the hammer throw with a distance of 133-feet, even, on his second throw of the afternoon. 

Sophomore Alex Buchan (Norton, Massachusetts/Norton) finished tenth in the javelin throw with a distance of 164-feet, 6-inches. 

Senior All-American Joshua Hubbell (Gloucester, Massachusetts/St. John's Prep) placed 16th in the long jump with a distance of 19-feet, 11.75-inches, on his second attempt. 

The 2018 NE10 Outdoor Track & Field Championships conclude with second day action at Jess Dow Field on Saturday. Day two of the decathlon and heptathlon open the day's schedule at 9 and 9:30 a.m., respectively, with field events starting at 10:15 a.m., and then the track events getting underway at 12:30 p.m.

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