Junior All-American Matt Baldasare leads the Skyhawks into tomorrow's NE-10 Championship. |
Skyhawks picked fourth in pre-championship poll
EASTON, Mass. (February 19, 2016) – The Stonehill College men's track & field team, ranked No. 6 in this week's U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) NCAA Division II East Regional Computer Rankings, will look to finish in the top three at the Northeast-10 Conference Indoor Championship on Saturday at the Reggie Lewis Track & Athletic Center in Boston, Massachusetts.
Stonehill, which previously hadn't finished worse than second in the team results in the last four years, placed third at last years championship. The Skyhawks have been picked fourth in the NE-10's pre-championship coaches' poll by the league's 11 head coaches. The Skyhawks received 70 points, trailing championship favorites American International College, the defending team champions, with 98 points and eight first place votes, while Southern Connecticut State University is picked second with 93 points and the remaining three first place votes. Franklin Pierce University has been picked third (79 points), while Merrimack College (61) rounds out the top five.
Junior All-American Matt Baldasare (Mansfield, Massachusetts/Mansfield) is seeded fifth in the 400-meter dash with his time of 49.93-seconds set at the Boston University Valentine Invitational last weekend. Freshman Daniel Madsen (West Haven, Connecticut/Notre Dame High) is seeded ninth in the 500-meter run with a time of 1:07.46.
Freshman Stephen Vercollone (Pembroke, Massachusetts/Pembroke) has had an immediate impact for Stonehill in his first collegiate season and is expected to have a factor in the 800-meter run where he is seeded first with a time of 1:56.03, which he set at the Boston University John Thomas Terrier Invitational. Sophomore Alex Southiere (Cumberland, Rhode Island/Cumberland) is seeded third with a time of 1:59.61, while freshman Matthew Shaw (Goffstown, New Hampshire/Goffstown) is seeded seventh in 2:00.90.
Senior Robert Massey (Chelmsford, Massachusetts/Chelmsford) leads a trio of Stonehill entries seeded in the top 10 in the 3000-meter run, where he is third with a time of 8:29.28. Freshman Larry Carney (Lowell, Massachusetts/Lowell) and John Onken (Holbrook, New York/Sachem North) are seeded seventh and tenth, respectively, with times of 8:42.05 and 8:50.31.
Junior Joe Santo (Newburyport, Massachusetts/Newburyport) leads five Stonehill entries in the 5000-meter run, ranking seventh with a seed time of 15:29.88. Classmate Antonio Xelhua (Arlington, Massachusetts/Arlington) is seeded eighth with a time of 15:31.01, while sophomore Ken Vinacco (Scituate, Rhode Island/Scituate) and freshman Steve Scala (Mansfield, Massachusetts/Bishop Feehan) are seeded 13th and 14th, respectively, with times of 16:00.3 and 16:03.80. Junior Adam Rego (Rumford, Rhode Island/La Salle Academy) rounds out the competitors with a ranking of 16th with a time of 16:08.75.
Sophomore Anthony Innamorati is seeded first in the pole vault |
Freshman David Lockhart (Stoughton, Massachusetts/Stoughton) is the fourth seed in the 1000-meter run with a time of 2:30.14, while classmate Joseph Connolly (Wilmington, Massachusetts/Austin Prep) is seeded seventh in the 200-meter dash with a time of 22.41 which he set at the BU Valentine Invitational.
Freshman Alex Demeule (Merrimac, Massachusetts/Pentucket Regional) is seeded eighth in the one mile run with a time of 4:21.75, which he set at BU Valentine Invitational. Classmate Christopher Drace (Franklin, New Jersey/Pope John XXIII) is set to compete in the one mile run and is currently seeded 11th with a time he set at the Beantown Challenge of 4:25.58.
Sophomore Jonathan Naval (Stratford, Connecticut/Bunnell) is seeded 11th in the triple jump with a distance of 45-feet, 3.00-inches, while sophomore Stefan Balestra (Lincoln, Rhode Island/Lincoln) is seeded sixth in the weight throw and senior Mason Griffin (Wellesley, Massachusetts/Wellesley) is seeded sixth in the shot put with distances of 51-feet, 8.5-inches and 47-feet, 7.75-inches respectively.
Sophomore Anthony Innamorati (Clinton, Massachusetts/Clinton) is the top seed in the pole vault clearing a height of 14-feet, 9-inches, while classmate Mark Hamalian (West Bridgewater, Massachusetts/Bridgewater-Raynham) is seeded sixth in the high jump with a height of 6-feet, 0.75-inches which he set at the Tufts Stampede.
The distance medley relay and 4x400 relay will look to finish considerably higher than where they are currently seeded, as the DMR is ranked sixth with a time of 10:33.3, while the 4x400 is seeded ninth at 3:27.57. The 4x800 relay consisting of junior Duncan Burleigh (Hingham, Massachusetts/Hingham), sophomore Jason Dimmick (Sutton, Massachusetts/Sutton), Vercollone and Lockhart are seeded third with a time of 8:06.53.
Following Saturday's NE-10 Indoor Championship, Stonehill will return to action on February 26th at the New England Championships.
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