Taxter finished seventh in tonight's final for the one mile run. (PHOTO BY Mark Connolly) |
Readville, Massachusetts, senior earns third career All-America honor, marking program's first individual track & field All-America finish in six years
PITTSBURG, Kansas (March 9, 2019) – Stonehill College senior All-American Lucas Taxter turned in a seventh place finish in the one mile run on day two of the 2019 NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field Championships, hosted by Pittsburg State University, inside the Robert W. Plaster Center tonight.
Taxter, competing individually at the NCAA Track & Field Championships for the first time, completed his third mile within a 26-hour period in 4:13.20 to earn All-America honors for the third time in his career. He led the pack heading into the first full lap after completing the first 109-meters in 16.71-seconds. Taxter was shuffled to fourth in the lead pack after the first full 300-meter lap with a 1:07.08 split after 409-meters. He hung right there in the lead pack for the next two laps, finishing the first 1000-meters in 2:44.55 after two high-48-second laps.
Taxter is an All-American for the third time in his career (PHOTO BY Mark Connolly) |
The pace quickened for the second to last lap with a 46.23-second split, shuffling Taxter back to fifth. Queens sophomore Daniel Wallis charged from the back of the pack to take the lead heading into the bell lap, where he was passed by teammate Felix Wammetsberger as the teammates both posted mid-to-high 40-second splits on the final lap to sweep the top two positions. Wammetsberger won in 4:11.18, while Wallis finished second in 4:11.20, with Adams State University senior Elias Gedyon right on their heels in third at 4:11.37.
Taxter adds his first career individual indoor track & field All-America finish to a program-best 19th-place effort at the NCAA II Cross Country Championships in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in December, while also a member of Stonehill's 2018 4000-meter distance medley relay that finished fifth a year ago. He is the Skyhawks first individual men's track & field All-American since Corey Thomas, '13 and Nick Staley, '15 combined for three honors at the 2013 Indoor Championships. Taxter had turned in the fourth-fastest qualifying time in Friday's preliminary heats at 4:09.80.
Taxter completed the individual/relay double for the first time, running the mile anchor on Stonehill's distance medley relay that finished 12th last night in 10:11.39. He was joined on the relay by fellow senior All-American Alex Demeule for the opening 1200-meter leg, classmate Joe Connolly for the 400-meter leg and freshman Nickolas McNamee for the 800-meter leg.
Congrats to our five NCAA Indoor Championships participants. (L-R) McNamee, Vercollone, Taxter, Demeule and Connolly (PHOTO BY Mark Connolly) |
Senior All-American Stephen Vercollone also qualified for the NCAA Championships and finished 17th in Friday's 800-meter run prelims in 1:58.56.
The Stonehill Track & Field program will open its outdoor schedule on Saturday, March 30, at the UMass Lowell Invitational. Stonehill will host its annual Skyhawk Invitational on Saturday, April 27, at W.B. Mason Stadium at 10 a.m.
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