Stonehill's record-breaking 4x800-meter relay team (l-r): Nick Kirkpatrick, Dan Zawalich, Duncan Burleigh and Patrick Cooney. |
Skyhawks finish 18th as a team at Championships, fourth among DII programs
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (May 9, 2015) – Stonehill College had two relay teams produce All-New England performances as the Skyhawks posted an 18th place team finish at the 2015 New England Outdoor Track & Field Championships, hosted by Massachusetts Institute of Technology, at Henry G. Steinbrenner Stadium today.
Stonehill's 4x800-meter relay team carried the torch for the Skyhawks on Saturday with a runner-up finish in a school-record 7:33.66, finishing behind only Division I University of New Hampshire (meet-record 7:26.63). Senior All-American Patrick Cooney (Douglaston, New York/Archbishop Molloy) got the Skyhawks started by running the lead leg, followed by sophomore Duncan Burleigh (Hingham, Massachusetts/Hingham) and then senior All-American Dan Zawalich (Paxton, Massachusetts/St. John's of Shrewsbury) before junior All-American Nick Kirkpatrick (Carmel, Indiana/Brebeuf Jesuit Prep) completed the anchor leg to bring home All-New England honors for the group. The Skyhawks, which placed second out of 24 relay teams in the event, broke the previous program record time of 7:34.77 set at the 2013 New England Championships at W.B. Mason Stadium, by a team which included Kirkpatrick.
Cooney and Kirkpatrick also finished ninth and tenth, respectively, in the 800-meter run today, provisionally qualifying for the NCAA Division II Championships in Michigan in two weeks, but just missing out on All-New England honors as individuals. Cooney placed ninth in the field of 32 for the event with a time of 1:52.19, with Kirkpatrick right on his heels in tenth in 1:52.32 while running the same section. Cooney currently ranks 37th nationally, while Kirkpatrick ranks 44th. Zawalich added a 14th place finish out of 31 entries in the 1500-meter run with a time of 3:52.15.
Senior All-American Teague Grubel was part of Stonehill's 4x400-meter relay that earned All-New England honors. (PHOTO BY SportsPix) |
Stonehill finished the weekend with three total All-New England performances to place 18th as a team at the event. The Skyhawks compiled 15 points at the meet, with Division I University of Rhode Island producing the top team in New England with 104.50 points. Northeast-10 Conference champions Southern Connecticut State University finished in second place with 82 points. Stonehill finished fourth among Northeast-10 programs at the Championships and tenth among non-Division I programs.
Senior All-American Teague Grubel (Phoenix, Arizona/Shadow Mountain), classmate Robert Smith (Woburn, Massachusetts/Woburn Memorial), sophomore All-American Matt Baldasare (Mansfield, Massachusetts/Mansfield) as well as freshman Joshua Hubbell (Gloucester, Massachusetts/St. John's Prep) all picked up All-New England honors for Stonehill's 4x400-meter relay team which finished eighth out of 27 teams in 3:19.02.
Junior Mason Griffin (Wellesley, Massachusetts/Wellesley) placed ninth in the shot put with a distance of 48-feet, 7.50-inches, finishing just one spot shy of his first career All-New England performance in the field of 21 throwers today.
Grubel, Smith and Baldasare also combined as part of Stonehill's 4x100-meter relay team that placed 15th in 44-seconds flat. Freshman Patrick Ahern (Charlotte, North Carolina/Providence Day School) ran the first 100-meters before handing off to Smith for the second leg, with Baldasare completing the third leg and then Grubel finishing the anchor leg.
Senior Bryan Wilcox (Plantsville, Connecticut/Southington) posted Stonehill's lone All-New England performance on Friday with his third place finish in the 10,000-meter run with a personal-best time of 30:58.99.
The Stonehill men's track and field program sees its season come to a close this afternoon's final day of the New England Championships. Cooney and Kirkpatrick are the Skyhawks lone provisional qualifiers for the NCAA Championships, but are not likely to be on the final heat sheets when they are released this week.
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