Senior Xavier Dixon improved his NCAA Championships qualification time with a second place finish in the 60-meter hurdles. (PHOTO BY Richard Orr) |
Two Skyhawks qualify or improve qualifying standard for NCAA Championships
Saintil breaks own school record and eight qualify for New Englands
BOSTON, Mass. (January 24, 2014) – The Stonehill College men's track and field program had two NCAA Championships qualifying performances, broke one school record and had several New England qualifying efforts to highlight a successful night at the Joe Donahue Games, hosted by Northeastern University, at the Reggie Lewis Track & Athletic Center tonight.
Senior Xavier Dixon (New Bedford, Mass./New Bedford) finished second in the 60-meter high hurdles and improved his NCAA provisional qualifying time with a personal-best run of 8.10-seconds in the final – marking the ninth fastest time in the country to date. He qualified third for the final with his time of 8.31-seconds in the preliminary rounds. Dixon also placed 30th in the 200-meter dash in 23.66-seconds.
Senior Herby Saintil (Roslindale, Mass./BC High) provisionally qualified for the NCAA Championships to be held in Winston-Salem, N.C., in March in the triple jump with his school-record distance of 47-feet, 1.00-inch to place second in the event. The distance currently ranks 21st nationally and broke his own previous school record of 45-07.25 set at the Northeast-10 Championships here at the Reggie Lewis Center last February 16. Saintil also placed 18th in the long jump with a leap of 20-03.00.
Junior All-American Daniel Zawalich (Paxton, Mass./St. John's of Shrewsbury) qualified for next month's New England Championships with his third place finish in the one mile run in 4:14.88 – just shy of the NCAA provisional qualifying standard. Sophomore Robert Massey (Chelmsford, Mass./Chelmsford) finished 14th in 4:21.11.
Senior Herby Saintil provisionally qualified for the NCAA Championships with his school-record triple jump effort. |
Zawalich and Massey were also part of Stonehill's 4000-meter distance medley relay team that made its season debut on Friday night with a second place finish in 10:28.79. Zawalich ran the opening 1200-meter leg in 3:09, before junior All-American Patrick Cooney (Douglaston, N.Y./Archbishop Molloy) completed the 400-meter leg in 52.2-seconds, Massey ran the 800-meter leg in 2:02, followed by sophomore Nick Kirkpatrick (Carmel, Ind./Brebeuf Jesuit Prep) who finished the mile anchor leg in 4:25.
Cooney also finished fifth in the 800-meter run with a New England Championships qualifying time of 1:55.76 – just 0.13 shy of the provisional qualifying standard for the NCAA Championships. Kirkpatrick placed tenth in 1:56.73.
Junior Teague Grubel (Phoenix, Ariz./Shadow Mountain) qualified individually for the New England Championships in two events. He placed third in the 60-meter dash with a time of 7.09-seconds after qualifying third in 7.12-seconds in the prelims. Grubel finished fourth in the 200-meter dash in 22.57-seconds for his second New England qualifying mark.
Grubel was also part of Stonehill's 4x400-meter relay team that qualified for New Englands with a fourth place finish in 3:23.52. Grubel ran the lead leg in 52-seconds, followed by freshman Matt Baldasare (Mansfield, Mass./Mansfield) with a 50.2-second split on the second leg, before senior Tyler Moules (Billerica, Mass./Billerica) completed the third leg in 50.5-seconds and junior Robert Smith (Woburn, Mass./Woburn Memorial) ran the anchor leg in 50.4.
Senior Teague Grubel qualified for New Englands in three events on Friday night. (PHOTO BY Richard Orr) |
Moules also placed 18th in the 400-meter dash with his time of 51.12-seconds, while Smith finished 19th in 51.19 and Baldasare 31st in 51.71 in the field of 43.
Senior Daniel Cormier (Methuen, Mass./Methuen) placed fourth in the 35-pound weight throw with a distance of 52-feet, 8.75-inches to qualify for the New England Championships. Sophomore Morgan Johnson (West Newbury, Mass./St. John's Prep) finished tenth with a throw of 45-09.25.
Cormier also finished seventh in the shot put with a distance of 45-feet, 1.00-inch. Sophomore Mason Griffin (Wellesley, Mass./Wellesley) was close behind in ninth with a throw of 44-04.25.
Other Stonehill Performances of Note:
Junior All-American Nick Staley (Medway, Mass./BC High) placed fifth in the high jump with a height of 6-feet, 6-inches.
Senior Stephen Leonard (Chatham, N.J./Chatham) finished 18th in the 3000-meter run with his time of 8:50.10.
Stonehill has some distance runners competing tomorrow at the John Thomas Terrier Invitational, hosted by Boston University, at the BU Track & Tennis Center. The Skyhawks are in action next Saturday, February 1, at the URI Coaches' Tribute Meet, hosted by the University of Rhode Island, in Kingston, R.I., at 11 a.m.
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