Men's Track & Field Wins Four Events at Holy Cross Invitational


Balestra won the hammer throw to highlight four event wins at Holy Cross.

Field athletes shine for Skyhawks as attention moves towards home meet

WORCESTER, Mass. (April 22, 2017) – The Stonehill College men's track and field program collected four event wins in competing at the Holy Cross Invitational on Saturday in cold, damp conditions.

Senior Stefan Balestra (Lincoln, Rhode Island/Lincoln) won the hammer throw by clearing a season-best distance of 164-feet, 8-inches. He also placed fifth in the discus throw with a distance of 116-feet, 6-inches.

Juniors Mark Hamalian (West Bridgewater, Massachusetts/Bridgewater-Raynham) and Joshua Hubbell (Gloucester, Massachusetts/St. John's Prep) swept the top two spots in the long jump. Hamalian cleared a distance of 21-feet, 5-inches to win the event, while Hubbell was close behind in second with a leap of 20-feet, 6.25-inches. Hubbell also finished second in the 100-meter dash in 11.42-seconds. Classmate Jonathan Naval (Stratford, Connecticut/Bunnell) was also first in the pit by clearing 43-feet, 8.50-inches in the triple jump.

Freshman Collin Kuchachik (Orange, Connecticut/Amity Regional) finished first in the 110-meter high hurdles by running a time of 16-seconds. Freshman Atiba McLaren (Pittsford, New York/McQuaid Jesuit) placed third in the event at 16.73 seconds.

Sophomore Christopher Drace (Franklin, New Jersey/Pope John XXIII) led 11 Stonehill entries out of a field of 21 competitors overall in the 800-meter run with his second place finish in 1:57.02. Classmate David Lockhart (Stoughton, Massachusetts/Stoughton) placed third in 1:57.02 as well.


Hubbell has two top individual finishes on Saturday.

Sophomore Lucas Taxter (Readville, Massachusetts/Xaverian Brothers) finished second in the 1500-meter run with his time of 4:00.31, while junior James Murphy (Mansfield, Massachusetts/Mansfield) was fourth in 4:02.83.

Other Stonehill Highlights Include:

Junior Anthony Innamorati (Clinton, Massachusetts/Clinton) placed second in the pole vault by clearing 13-feet, 5.25-inches.

Senior Duncan Burleigh (Hingham, Massachusetts/Hingham) posted a personal-best time of 51.66-seconds for his third place finish in the 400-meter dash.

Junior Kenny Vinacco (Scituate, Rhode Island/Scituate) led four Stonehill runners in the 5000-meter run with his personal-best time of 15.17.92.

Stonehill, which is host of the 2017 Northeast-10 Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships May 5-6, will host its Skyhawk Invitational next Saturday, April 29, starting at 10:30 a.m.

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