Senior All-American Corey Thomas automatically qualified for the NCAA Championships in the high jump, while also provisionally qualified in the hurdles on Friday night. (PHOTO BY Richard Orr)

Thomas hits NCAA auto qualification for high jump, provisional in hurdles
Staley and Dixon gain provisional qualification in high jump and hurdles

WALTHAM, Mass. (December 7, 2012) – The Stonehill College men's track and field team captured the team title for the second straight year at the Reggie Poyau Invitational, hosted by Brandeis University, at Gosman Athletic Center tonight.

Stonehill compiled 141 points to win the team title for the second straight year. UMass Lowell was second with 125 points, while Bentley University finished third with 77.

Senior All-American Corey Thomas (Brookline, Mass./BC High) highlighted a solid night of performances for Stonehill by hitting the automatic qualifying standard in the high jump as he placed first with a height of 7-feet, 1.50-inches – the top jump in Division II this season to date. Sophomore Nick Staley (Medway, Mass./BC High) improved on his provisional qualifying height by clearing 6-11.50 to place second by eight inches. Junior Herby Saintil (Roslindale, Mass./BC High) collected a point for the Skyhawks while competing in the event for the first time in his collegiate career with a height of 5-11.5 to place sixth.

Junior Xavier Dixon (New Bedford, Mass./New Bedford) edged out Thomas in the 55-meter hurdles final by a mere hundredth of a second to win the event with a time of 7.74-seconds, provisionally qualifying for the NCAA Division II Championships for the first time in his career. Thomas finished the final in 7.75-seconds for second place after qualifying first in an NCAA provisional qualifying time of 7.67-seconds in the prelims. Dixon qualified second for the final in 7.75-seconds. Freshman Dante Bittle (Holbrook, Mass./Holbrook) finished sixth in the final in 8.38-seconds after qualifying sixth in 8.42.

Junior Xavier Dixon provisionally qualified for the NCAA Championships in the hurdles with his first place finish. (PHOTO BY Richard Orr)

Saintil won the triple jump with a distance of 44-feet, 2-inches. Freshman Fortune Kalala (Lawrence, Mass./Central Catholic) placed fourth at 41-5.25, while junior George Georgaklis (Westwood, Mass./Westwood) took seventh at 39-8.75.

Junior Christopher Dooley (Weymouth, Mass./Weymouth) won the mile and led three Stonehill runners in the top four of a field of 21 runners with his time of 4:22.11. Freshman Robert Massey (Chelmsford, Mass./Chelmsford) took third in 4:25.57, while junior Scott Waller (Andover, Mass./Andover) finished fourth in 4:27.46.

Sophomore Daniel Cormier (Methuen, Mass./Methuen) posted a pair of second place finishes in throwing events for Stonehill. He cleared a distance of 46-feet, 5.25-inches for his second place effort in the shot put, while hitting a distance of 47-feet, 9.25-inches to place second in the weight throw. Freshman Mason Griffin (Wellesley, Mass./Wellesley) placed seventh in the shot put at 40-11.75

Seniors Luke Byrnes (Glen Head, N.Y./Chaminade) and Kevin McCann (Monroe, Conn./Masuk) finished second and third, respectively, for the pole vault. Byrnes matched the winning height of 13-feet, 11.25-inches, but placed second on attempts, while McCann cleared 13-5.25.

Sophomore Nick Staley improved his provisional qualifying height in the high jump. (PHOTO BY Richard Orr)

Sophomore Teague Grubel (Phoenix, Ariz./Shadow Mountain) placed second in the 55-meter dash in 6.59-seconds after qualifying second in 6.65-seconds to win his heat. Junior Michael Harris (Danvers, Mass./Danvers) finished fourth in 6.74-seconds after qualifying for the final third in 6.74 as well. Grubel qualified second in 6.65-seconds, while freshman Justin Howard-Callender (New Bedford, Mass./New Bedford) finished eighth in qualifying in 6.88-seconds in the field of 32 sprinters.

Grubel also placed fourth in the field of 40 sprinters in the 200-meter dash with a time of 23.24-seconds. Harris finished sixth in 23.66-seconds, while senior Colin Prior (Georgetown, Mass./St. John's Prep) took seventh in 23.75.

Howard-Callender placed third in the long jump with a distance of 20-feet, 3.75-inches.

Stonehill's 4x400-meter relay team also turned in a third place finish on Friday night with a time of 3:33.32. Prior ran the lead leg, followed by Staley, Padilla and then Moules on the anchor leg.

Junior Michael Amirault (Walpole, Mass./Xaverian Brothers) placed fourth in a field of 39 for the 3000-meter run with his time of 8:48.19.

Stonehill is off until the second semester when it competes at the URI Sorlien Invitational, hosted by the University of Rhode Island, on Saturday, January 19, at 11 a.m.

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