NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. (April 15, 2023)- The Stonehill College men's outdoor track and field team returned to Merrimack College for the Merrimack Alumni Classic Saturday afternoon.

The Skyhawks took home third place (145 points) in Saturday's meet with the hosts, Merrimack College winning with 236 points. Sacred Heart finished in second place (177) followed by Stonehill in third, Holy Cross in fourth (75), and finally Bentley (57) rounded out the top five.

Highlights

• The 4x100 relay team of John Paulhamus, Shea Drugan, Zachary Ofurum, and Solomon King took the top spot with a blistering time of 41.59 seconds. The group's time broke the school's previous record set back in 2018 (41.71 seconds) and is also the second fastest time in the Northeast Conference.
• Individually, King once again had a solid day for the Skyhawks as the junior notched two individual first place finishes in both the 100-meter and 200-meter. In the 100-meter, King set a new personal-best with a time of 10.76 seconds which is the sixth fastest time in the NEC.
• In the 3,000-meter, Reilly Johnston grabbed first place with a time of 8:41.64. His first place finish marked the second time this year Johnston has posted a top three finish in the events he has competed in. 
• Jacob Pacheco had a strong day in field events with his two second place finishes in both the high jump and pole vault. In high jump, Pacheco had a leap of 1.90 meters (6'2.75") which is the fourth best mark in the NEC. Meanwhile in pole vault, Pacecho's jump was marked at 4.50 meters (14' 9") and is also the fourth best in the conference. He also had a top 10 finish (10th) in javelin at 40.62 meters (133' 3").

Other Performances

• The squad continued their strong day in field events as Parker Hagen and Levi Wurster had top five finishes in the triple jump at thrid and fourth place respectively. Hagen's third place leap was measured at 12.76 meters (41' 10.5") and Wurster's was 12.49 meters (40' 11.75"). Wurster's mark ended being a new career-high for the freshman jumper and is the 14th best in the conference. 
• Shotput saw the Skyhawks claim five spots within the top 10 led by Michael Gozzo's throw of 12.53 meters (41' 1.50") which earned him fifth place. Jonathan Scampoli was right behind in sixth at 12.49 meters (40' 11.75") followed by Eli Grover (seventh) at 12.25 meters (40' 2.25"). Rounding Stonehill's finishers in shotput are Tyler Thomas with an eighth place mark of 11.94 meters (39' 2.25") and finally Chris Cox in ninth thanks to a throw of 11.86 meters (38' 11"). 
• Along with King, the Purple and White had four other top 10 finishes in the 100-meter. Drugan was not far behind as he notched a third place finish at 10.99 seconds followed by Paulhamus in eighth (11.31 seconds), Ofurum at ninth (11.43 seconds), and Patrick Morin in 10th (11.49 seconds). For Paulhamus, his time ended up being a personal-record. 
• Meanwhile in the 200-meter, the Skyhawks had two more top 10 finishes to go along with King that included a career-best from Drugan at 21.88 seconds (third place). Ryan Lavery finished off the top 10 finishers for Stonehill in 10th place at 22.98 seconds which was also a personal-record. Drugan's impressive time not only was a best for the sophomore, but is also the seventh best in the NEC.
• Continuing with the Skyhawks multiple top 10 finishers, Louis Warner led the way for the Purple and White in the 800-meter at 1:58.47 which was good second place and just a few spots behind was Thomas Forde in seventh place at 2:00.08. For Warner, his time ended up being a new career-best while also being the 15th best in the conference.
• In the 400 meter hurdles, Andrew Morin also had a top 10 finish (fourth) when he crossed the finish line in 57.06 seconds.
• The 1500 meter saw three Stonehill runners claim three spots in the top 10 which included a fifth place finish by Connor Hughes (4:00.67). Right behind Hughes was Colin Black in sixth (4:01.70) and finally, Jace Hollenbach notched a seventh place finish (4:05.00). For Black and Hollenbach, their times marked new personal-records for the runners.
• Joining Johnston inthe 3000 meter were also Black and Hollenbach who had times of 9:06.36 (seventh) and 9:14.04 (ninth) respectively.
• In discus, the Skyawhks had three more top 10 finishes led by Gozzo's throw of 37.28 meters (122' 4"). Grover finished right behind him at 36.32 meters (119' 2") which ended up being a new career-best for the freshman thrower. Finally, Thomas rounded out the top 10 with a 10th place toss of 34.28 meters (112' 6"). 
• Chris Cox set a new best in the hammer throw at 45.30 meters (148' 7") which is currently the 11th best mark in the conference.
• Jake Dwyer had a seventh place finish in the 110 meter hurdles at 17.79 seconds.
• In the 400 meter, Casey Ivester and Jackson Domingo posted 11th (54.27 seconds) and 12th (55.16 seconds) place finishes respectively.
• The 400 meter relay saw three Stonehill teams competed led by the squads first team (Drugan, King, Paulhamus, and Andrew Morin) take third at 3:27.34. The squads third team (David DiPietro, Forde, Hughes, and Warner) claimed fifth with a time of 3:33.12 and finally, the second team (Domingo, Ivester, Patrick Morin, and Ofurm) was seventh. 

Up Next

Stonehill is back at it next weekend when the Skyhawks travel to Holy Cross on Saturday, April 22.

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Headline Photo Credit: Margaret Gallagher