Preview: Track and Field Competes at New England Championships

NEICAAA Championship Meet Program

Women first, Men second in USTFCCCA East Regional Poll

EASTON, Mass. (May 11, 2017) – The Stonehill College men's and women's track and field team will compete in the two-day 2017 New England Outdoor Championships on Friday, May 12-Saturday, May 13, hosted by Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts.

The women are currently ranked No. 1 in this week's U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) NCAA Division II East Regional Computer Rankings, while the men are placed second behind Southern Connecticut State University.

Last week, the women won their third Northeast-10 Conference Outdoor Championship in program history, as the men placed third behind 14-time NE10 Championship Southern Connecticut State University and runner-up Franklin Pierce University.

At last years' New England Championship, the Stonehill women's squad finished eighth among 37 teams, while the men's team placed 14th among 35 teams at the meet.

WOMEN:

Senior Nicole Borofski (Plymouth, Mass./Plymouth North) will be competing in her third outdoor New England Championship this year, where she will be competing in the 1500-meter run. Borofski is currently ranked sixth among the field of 32. The senior won the title in the 3000-meter steeplechase last year. She is ranked ninth overall Division II in the steeplechase, 18th in the 1500m, and 59th in the 800m. The eight-time All-American has also won 15-straight NE10 Championship events, including cross country and indoor & outdoor track & field.

Classmate Aisha McAdams (North Kingstown, Rhode Island/North Kingstown) enters New England's with a title of her own in the 1500-meter race. Currently her time of 4:36.07 is ranked 21st among the field.  

Junior Emily Knox (Worcester, Massachusetts/Notre Dame Academy) bypassed the NCAA provisional mark in the 5000-meter run at the NE10 Championship and will be competing in the 1500-meter race where she is ranked 18th in the field of 32.

Ward will be appearing in her first outdoor New England Championship after finishing ninth in the indoor meet

Sophomore Courtney Daggett (Attleboro, Mass./Attleboro) looks to earn All-New England's once again, as she placed second in the high jump last year with a height of 1.60m. Daggett is currently ranked 13th among the 24-competitor field. Freshman Madison Ward (Holliston, Massachusetts/Holliston) finished ninth in the indoor championship with a mark of 1.61m and is ranked 17th.

Classmate Olivia Dexter (East Calais, Vt./Union 32) will also be competing in her second outdoor championship with a ranking of three in the 100-meter dash and eighth in the 200-meter sprint.

Gaelin Farrell (Baldwinville, Massachusetts/Narragansett Regional) will be competing in her third New England Championship, as she has previously placed 12th in 2015 and 21st in 2016 in the shot put. The junior looks to best her mark of 13.18m (43ft, 3inch), the new outdoor school record, as she is ranked eighth in the field of 24. Freshman Shayla Lyons (Westerlo, New York/Bishop Maginn/Berne-Knox Westerlo) is ranked just above Farrell in the shot put with her throw of 13.20m.

Sophomore Krista Fernandes (Taunton, Massachusetts/Coyle and Cassidy) finished 20th at last year's championship in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 1:05.24. She is ranked 21st in this year's championship with her personal best time of 1:04.12.

Freshman Azariah Boyd (Brockton, Massachusetts/Brockton) will be competing in her second New England Championship, as she ran in the 60-meter hurdles during the indoor season. Boyd is ranked 15th in the 100-meter hurdles with her personal best time of 14.95.

MEN:
Senior Joe Santo (Newburyport, Mass./Newburyport) is coming off two NE10 Championships titles in the 5000-meter and 10000-meter run. In the 10000-meter he is also ranked 39th among the NCAA Division II Outdoor Qualifying list. Santo is ranked fifth among the field of 32 in the 5000m with a time of 14:41.16, where last year he finished 13th.

Stephen Vercollone (Pembroke, Massachusetts/Pembroke) is ranked sixth in the 800-meter run with a time of 1:51.65. The sophomore is 30th on the provisional list with his time from the Skyhawk Invitational.

Along with Santo, Daniel Nolan (Chelmsford, Massachusetts/Chelmsford)Tyler Henseler (Coventry, Rhode Island/Bishop Hendricken) and Kenny Vinacco (Scituate, Rhode Island/Scituate) will be running in the 5000-meter run, where they are ranked 16th, 25th and 28th, respectively.

Vercollone aims to move up on the NCAA provisional in the 800-meter run

Sophomore John Onken (Holbrook, New York/Sachem North) is ranked 10th in the 10000-meter run with a time of 31:57.41, as he is competing in his first New England Championship.

Anthony Innamorati (Clinton, Mass./Clinton) placed seventh overall in his second appearance at New England's last year, as he is ranked 20th with a mark of 4.45m in the pole vault.

Junior Joshua Hubbell (Gloucester, Massachusetts/St. John's Prep) will be competing in his third New England Championship, where he is ranked 14th among a field of 21 competitors in the long jump. Classmate Mark Hamalian (West Bridgewater, Massachusetts/Bridgewater-Raynham) will be competing in his first outdoor New England Championship in the long jump where he is ranked 18th overall.

Stefan Balestra (Lincoln, Rhode Island/Lincoln) is coming off a second-place finish at the NE10 Championship in the hammer throw where he hit a mark of 53.05m and will be competing in his third outdoor New England Championship.

Sophomore Lucas Taxter (Readville, Massachusetts/Xaverian Brothers) was the runner-up in the 1500-meter run in last year's New England Championship with a time of 3:54.82. This year he is ranked 14th with a time of 3:53.97. Classmates Alexander Demeule (Merrimac, Massachusetts/Pentucket Regional) and Christopher Drace (Franklin, New Jersey/Pope John XXIII) will also be running with Taxter, as they are ranked 22nd and 24th, respectively, in the 1500-meter run.

Junior James Murphy (Mansfield, Massachusetts/Mansfield) will be running in his first New England Championship with a ranking of eight in the 3000-meter steeplechase, with his personal best time of 9:28.56 from the NE10 Championships where he finished third.

The men's 4x800-meter quartet is ranked fourth, where the squad placed second in the event at the NE10 Championship with a time of 7:39.68.

Stonehill will be off next weekend before returning to action on May 25-27, when its qualified individuals compete at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, hosted by the University of Tampa & IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida.

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