Men seeking fourth-straight team title, women look to capture first-ever team crown
MEN'S PERFORMANCE LIST
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| Junior All-American Corey Thomas is seeded first overall in both the high jump and the 110-meter high hurdles. |
EASTON, Mass. (April 13, 2012) – For the fifth time in program history, the Stonehill College men's and women's track & field teams will host the Skyhawk Invitational at W.B. Mason Stadium on Saturday, April 14 at 10:30 a.m.
Stonehill will host 21 teams total on the afternoon ranging across all NCAA Divisions including both the men's and women's teams from Bentley University, Bridgewater State University, Connecticut College, Sienna, Brandeis University, Merrimack College, Boston University, Bryant University, Roxbury Community College, Tufts University and the Boston College men's track & field team .
Field events will kick-off the invitational as the hammer throw will start at 10:30 a.m. The 10,000-meter run will jump start the full slate of events scheduled on the oval at 11:30 a.m.
The Skyhawks men's squad is seeking its fourth-straight team title after winning last year's meet with a score of 148.50 points. Northeastern University finished second overall (128.50), Boston University was third (92 points), the University of Massachusetts Lowell fourth (89) and Boston College fifth (79).
Stonehill's women's squad posted its best finish all-time at the Skyhawk Invitational last season finishing in second place (108 points) behind the University of Rhode Island (212 points). Northeastern University finished third overall with 97 points.
Skyhawks To Watch – Men
Junior All-American Corey Thomas (Brookline, Mass./BC High) headlines the men's squad after provisionally qualifying in the 110-meter high hurdles with a first place finish at the George Davis Invitational last weekend in a time of 14.32-seconds, just 0.01 shy of his own school record.
Thomas will also participate in the high jump with teammate and freshman Nicholas Staley (Medway, Mass./BC High) who provisionally qualified last weekend at the George Davis Invitational in the event with a first place leap of 6-feet and 8.75-inches besting Thomas (third place, 6-06.75) by two inches.
Earlier this week, Staley was named the NE-10 Field Athlete and Rookie of the Week honors for the first time during the outdoor season after collecting Field Rookie of the Week honors four times during the indoor season.
Thomas is seeded first in both events ahead of sophomore Xavier Harris-Dixon (New Bedford, Mass./New Bedford) in the 110-meter high hurdles and Staley in the high jump.
Senior Stephen Polito (Worcester, Mass./Doherty Memorial), a two-time Northeast-10 Conference (NE-10) champion in the 10,000-meter run, will compete for the first time in the event this season on his home track. Polito's career-best in the 10,000-meter run is 31:14.61 which earned him a second place finish at the All-New England Championships last season and an All-New England honor as well.
The Skyhawk Invitational meet record for the 10,000-meter run is 31:39.54 set by David Emerson from Boston College on April 5, 2008. Polito is seeded first overall in the event at 30:52.30.
Classmate Corey Donahoe (Billerica, Mass./Billerica Memorial) will also compete in the 10,000-meter run and is seeded seventh overall in 32:46.50.
Senior captain Daniel Kincade (Brookfield, Conn./Brookfield) will attempt to break his own school record in the hammer throw after surpassing his previous mark (167-feet and 5-inches) with a throw of 169-feet and 5.88-inches at the UConn Huskies Invitational on Saturday, March 31.
Junior John Gelcius (Greenwich, Conn./Greenwich) rounds out Stonehill's list of NCAA provisional qualifiers so far this season as he placed second overall and first among collegiate entries at the UConn Huskies Invitational. Gelcius' distance of 197-feet, 7.20-inches broke his own previous record of 196-02 set at the Bridgewater State Bears Invitational March 26 of last year.
Senior John Driscoll (Revere, Mass./Revere) will compete in the 400-meter hurdles and is seeded fifth overall with a time of 56.64, his career-best time which was set at the Skyhawk Invitational last season on April 29, 2011.
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| Senior Kristen Mahoney is ranked first overall in the 10,000-meter run. |
Skyhawks To Watch – Women
Freshman Maria Curit (Biddeford, Maine/Biddeford) continues to build off of her successful indoor season as she earned two top-five finishes at the George Davis Invitational last Saturday. Curit posted the top NCAA Division II time in the 800 meter run with a time of 2:17.48 for fourth place overall. It was the first time Curit had run the 800 in her career, indoors or outdoors, at Stonehill.
Curit also ranked fifth overall in the long jump with a leap of 17-feet and 11-inches, nearly eclipsing the ten-year-old school record of 17-feet and 11.5-inches. Megan King holds the record (17'-11.5") which was set at the NE-10 Championships at Bryant University on May 4, 2002. For her efforts, Curit was named the NE-10 Women's Track Athlete and Rookie of the Week along with Field Rookie of the Week accolades.
Senior Jill Alves (Whitman, Mass./Whitman-Hanson) enters the Skyhawk Invitational seeded fifth overall in the 1,500-meter run with a time of 4:49.40. Alves placed fifth overall in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:19.81 at last year's meet. Alves is coming off of an outstanding indoor season in which she repeated as the NE-10 indoor champion in the 1,000-meter run in 3:00.96.
Classmate Maura Ferrarini (Springfield, Mass./Cathedral) checks in as the second seed in the 1,500 meter run in 4-minutes and 45.40-seconds. At the Skyhawk Invitational last year, Ferrarini posted a third place finish in the 5,000-meter run in 18-minutes and 29.56-seconds. Ferrarini will look to better her career personal best time of 4:48.10 which was set at the NE-10 Championships on May 7, 2011.
Junior Katie Bernazzani (Norwood, Mass./Norwood) will try and chase down her own school record in the 100-meter high hurdles after posting a sixth place finish at the George Davis Invitational in a time of 15.88-seconds. Her current school record is 15.20-seconds which was set on May 13, 2011 at the New England Championships hosted by Southern Connecticut.
Also looking to break her own school record at the Skyhawk Invitational is sophomore Meaghan Olin (Goshen, N.Y./Goshen). Olin holds the current high-water mark of 9-feet and 6-inches in the pole vault. Olin ranks third overall entering the event on Saturday. The sophomore is also the current record holder in the pole vault (indoors) with a mark of 9-feet and 6.25-inches.
Senior Kristen Mahoney (Weymouth, Mass./Weymouth) ranks first overall in the 10,000-meter run with a seed time of 37:20.56. Mahoney's personal best in the event is 38:16.17 which she established at the New England Championships on May 13, 2011. Junior Caroline McBride (North Reading, Mass./North Reading) checks in as the second seed in the 10,000-meter run with a time of 37:30.56.
Senior Christen Carrier (Manchester, N.H./Manchester Central), who earned All-NE-10 All-Conference honors in the 500-meter run and the 4x400-meter relay indoors, is ranked third overall in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:15.10. Freshman Sarah Wilson (West Suffield, Conn./Suffield) is seeded fourth overall in 2:15.40. Wilson was an All-New England performer and NCAA provisional qualifier in the 800-meter run indoors posted a school record time of 2:15.45 at the New England Championships to advance to the finals on February 24 where she finished sixth overall in 2:16.16.
Stonehill returns to action on Saturday, April 21 at the Holy Cross Crusades hosted by College of the Holy Cross (Hart Track; Worcester, Mass.).
