Junior All-American Corey Thomas won the 110-meter hurdles and high jump on Saturday.

Thomas wins two events, Byrnes wins pole vault for Skyhawks

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (April 29, 2012) – The Stonehill College men's track and field team, ranked second in this week's U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Division II East Regional ratings index, competed at the Brown Springtime Open to head into its championship season with several strong performances.

Junior All-American Corey Thomas (Brookline, Mass./BC High) turned in a pair of first place finishes to lead the way for Stonehill. Thomas and sophomore Xavier Harris-Dixon (New Bedford, Mass./New Bedford) took the top two spots in the 110-meter high hurdles for the third-straight week. Thomas won the event in 14.53-seconds, while Harris-Dixon took second in 14.77.

Thomas and freshman Nicholas Staley (Medway, Mass./BC High) placed first and second, respectively, in the high jump as both cleared 6-feet, 11-inches, but Thomas did so on his first attempt to win the event. Staley cleared on his second try to improve on his NCAA provisional qualification standard and both Skyhawks are presently ranked 11th in Division II for the event.

Junior Luke Byrnes (Glen Head, N.J./Chaminade) won the pole vault as he cleared 14-feet, 3.25-inches. Classmate Kevin McCann (Monroe, Conn./Masuk) placed third with a height of 13-9.25.

Freshman Nicholas Staley placed second in the high jump and improved on his NCAA Provisional Qualification standard.

Byrnes and McCann were also part of one two Stonehill teams to participate in the 4x400-meter relay. The pair ran the final two legs of the top Skyhawks squad that also included freshman Robert Smith (Woburn, Mass./Woburn Memorial) and sophomore Ryan Perkins (Shrewsbury, Mass./Saint John's) that placed second in 3:25.85. Sophomore All-American Justin Blaszczyk (Saint James, N.Y./Smithtown), freshman All-American Patrick Cooney (Douglaston, N.Y./Archbishop Molloy), sophomore Christopher Dooley (Weymouth, Mass./Weymouth) and junior All-American Sean Hanlon (Georgetown, Mass./St. John's Prep) finished third in 3:27.76.

Hanlon also finished fifth (out of 45 entries) in the 800-meter run with his time of 1:55.44, narrowly edging former teammate and Stonehill All-American Patrick Fullerton, '11, who finished in 1:55.46. Blaszczyk placed ninth in 1:56.60, while Dooley finished tenth in 1:57.02 – placing first in his section.

Cooney won his section and placed seventh overall (out of 22 competitors) in the 400-meter dash with a time of 51.76-seconds. Sophomore Thomas Banks (Peabody, Mass./Bishop Fenwick) finished 13th in 52.54.

Junior Tim Johnson (Thomaston, Conn./Thomaston) led four Stonehill entries in the 1500-meter run with his third place finish in 3:59.90, while sophomore Trent Fontanella (Pelham, N.H./Bishop Guertin) was sixth in 4:04.80.

Junior Luke Byrnes won the pole vault and was also part of the Skyhawks top 4x400-meter relay team. (PHOTO BY Richard Orr)

Sophomore Herby Saintil (Roslindale, Mass./BC High) placed third in the triple jump as he cleared 45-feet, 0.5-inches on his second attempt. Classmate Alex Wilgoos (Newington, Conn./Newington) was fifth at 40-5.5.

Senior captain John Driscoll (Revere, Mass./Revere) finished third in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 57.16-seconds.

Additional Stonehill Highlights Include:

Freshman Teague Grubel (Phoenix, Ariz./Shadow Mountain) placed fourth (out of 30 sprinters) in the 100-meter dash in 11.12-seconds.

Junior Colin Prior (Georgetown, Mass./St. John's Prep) finished sixth (out of 33) in the 200-meter dash with a time of 23.13-seconds.

Sophomore Taylor Viotto (Washington, N.J./Warren Hills) finished tenth in the javelin throw with his distance of 170-feet, 7-inches.

Freshman Christopher Whitten (Weymouth, Mass./Weymouth) placed 12th in the 3000-meter run in 9:31.70.

Freshman Daniel Cormier (Methuen, Mass./Methuen) finished 13th in the shot put with a distance of 45-feet, 10.5-inches. Classmate Ian Parsons (Nashua, N.H./Nashua South) placed 19th at 43-3.25.

Sophomore Thomas Yates (Baldwin, Maine/Cheverus) finished 14th in the hammer throw with a distance of 141-feet, 2-inches. He was also 16th in the discus throw at 121-feet, 5-inches.

Stonehill returns to action next weekend when it opens its championship season at the Northeast-10 Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships, hosted by Southern Connecticut State University, in New Haven, Conn., on Friday and Saturday, May 4 and 5.