Five Stonehill Men Earn Six All-Region Honors


Santo earns All-East Region honors for two events, giving him five career awards. (PHOTO BY SportsPix)

Santo earns All-Region honors for 3000 & 5000-meters and is joined by Innamorati as a five-time All-Region performer

USTFCCCA Division II All-East Region Announcement

EASTON, Mass. (February 28, 2017) – Five members of the Stonehill College men's track and field program have earned a combined six All-East Region honors from the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA). The awards recognize each region's top five performers in individual events and top three teams in relay events.

Senior Joe Santo (Newburyport, Massachusetts/Newburyport) leads the list for Stonehill by earning All-East Region honors for the 3000 and 5000-meter run, marking the first time in his career he has collected two All-Region honors in the same season. He has now earned All-Region honors five times in his career, with back-to-back accolades for the indoor 5000-meters. Santo also turned in an All-Region performance at the men's cross country regional in November with a 16th place finish to help lead the Skyhawks to the NCAA Division II Championships for the 14th-straight year.

Santo's All-Region performances for the indoor track & field season came with his New England Championship performance in the 5000-meters this past weekend with an NCAA Division II Championships provisional qualifying time of 14:41.20. He also posted a personal-best time of 8:37.66 in the 3000-meter run at the Beantown Challenge, hosted by Harvard University, on January 14 to earn All-Region honors for that event as well.

Junior Anthony Innamorati (Clinton, Massachusetts/Clinton) joins Santo as a five-time All-East Region performer with his third straight honor for the indoor pole vault. He cleared a season-best height of 14-feet, 5.25-inches at the New England Championships this past weekend. He has also earned All-Region honors for the outdoor pole vault twice in his career to go with his three indoor awards.

Junior Mark Hamalian (West Bridgewater, Massachusetts/Bridgewater-Raynham) earns All-East Region honors for the third time with his second straight performance in the heptathlon. He posted a personal-best 4,472 points to earn All-New England honors at the New England Championships over the weekend. Hamalian was also an All-Region performer for the decathlon last spring to go with his two heptathlon awards.


Santo

Innamorati

Hamalian

Sullivan
 
Vercollone

Junior Jordan Sullivan (Sound Beach, New York/Miller Place) and sophomore Stephen Vercollone (Pembroke, Massachusetts/Pembroke) round out Stonehill's All-East Region performers with their first career awards. Sullivan earns the honors for the high jump after clearing a personal-best 6-feet, 4.75-inches at the David Hemery Valentine Invitational, hosted by Boston University, on February 11, while Vercollone posted an NCAA provisional qualifying and personal-best time of 1:53.58 in the 800-meter run at Friday's preliminary rounds to qualify for the finals at the New England Championships on Friday. 

Stonehill's Men's Indoor Track & Field All-Region performers:
Mark Hamalian, Junior (West Bridgewater, Massachusetts/Bridgewater-Raynham)

Heptathlon (4,472 points/New England Championships) – personal-best

Anthony Innamorati, Junior (Clinton, Massachusetts/Clinton)
Pole Vault (14-feet, 5.25-inches/New England Championships)

Joe Santo, Senior (Newburyport, Massachusetts/Newburyport)
3000-meter run (8:37.66/Beantown Challenge) – personal-best
5000-meter run (14:41.20/New England Championships) – NCAA Provisional Qualifier/personal-best 

Jordan Sullivan, Junior (Sound Beach, New York/Miller Place)
High Jump (6-feet, 4.75-inches/David Hemery Valentine Invitational) – personal best 

Stephen Vercollone, Sophomore (Pembroke, Massachusetts/Pembroke)
800-meter run (1:53.58/New England Championships) – NCAA Provisional Qualifier/personal-best 

The Stonehill men will return to action at the end of March for the start of the outdoor track & field season when it competes at the UMass Lowell Spring Invitational on Saturday, March 25, at 11 a.m.

For the latest on Stonehill Athletics, follow the Skyhawks via social media on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Fans can also download the Stonehill Skyhawks "Front Row" mobile app, powered by PrestoSports, on iTunes and the Android Market.