Ireland was part of two first place finishes and turned in two personal season-bests as well. (PHOTO BY SportsPix) |
Ireland wins 100-meter dash, part of first place 4x100 and third in 200m
NEW LONDON, Conn. (April 14, 2018) – The Stonehill College men's track and field program, ranked No. 1 in this week's U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Division II East Region rankings, turned in three first place performances to claim second place in the team standings at the conclusion of the 2018 Silfen Invitational, hosted by Connecticut College at David and Lyn Silfen Track & Field Complex today.
Stonehill's 4x100-meter relay took first place out of ten teams with a season-best time of 42.33-seconds, just a quarter of a second shy of the program record and good for third on the Northeast-10 Conference's performance chart this spring. Freshman Hampton Boyd (Holliston, Massachusetts/Holliston) ran the lead leg and then handed the baton to sophomore Justin Ireland (Norton, Massachusetts/Norton) for the second leg and then senior All-American Joshua Hubbell (Gloucester, Massachusetts/St. John's Prep) ran the third leg before junior Joe Connolly (Wilmington, Massachusetts/Austin Prep) completed the anchor leg for the Skyhawks.
Ireland also won the 100-meter dash that included 64 entries with a season-best time of 10.94-seconds. Freshman Desmond Bernal (Warwick, Rhode Island/Bishop Hendricken) finished 23rd in a season-best 11.46-seconds. Ireland also finished third out of 71 sprinters in the 200-meter dash in a season-best 22.17-seconds, while Hubbell placed ninth in 22.816-seconds. Bernal added his second season-best time of the day, with a 20th place finish in this event at 23.21-seconds.
Senior Stefan Balestra (Lincoln, Rhode Island/Lincoln) placed second out of 45 throwers in the hammer throw with a distance of 175-feet, 9-inches. Junior Xavier Young (Barnegat, New Jersey/Barnegat) took second out of 37 competitors in the shot put, with his season-best distance of 50-feet, 7.50-inches matching the winning distance, but sliding to second due to a tiebreaker, which ranks second on the NE10 performance chart. Young also placed 11th out of 40 throwers in the discus throw with his season-best distance of 124-feet, 10-inches, while Balestra took 14th with a season-long throw of 120-11.
Senior Anthony Innamorati (Clinton, Massachusetts/Clinton) placed second out of 22 entries in the pole vault, clearing a height of 14-feet, 11-inches, while junior Daniel Bomba (Putnam Valley, New York/Iona Prep) finished ninth with a height of 13-05.25.
Boyd ran the lead leg for two relays which turned in two strong finishes today. (PHOTO BY Mark Connolly) |
Senior Jordan Sullivan (Sound Beach, New York/Miller Place) took third out of 19 entries in the high jump, clearing a season-best height of 6-feet, 2-inches in his second attempt at the height, which ranks third on the NE10 performance chart. Classmate Jonathan Naval (Stratford, Connecticut/Bunnell) placed fifth out of 18 entries in the triple jump, clearing a distance of 42-feet, 8.75-inches. Hubbell was tenth out of 30 entries in the long jump with a distance of 19-feet, 8-inches.
Boyd also led Stonehill's 4x400-meter relay to a second place finish out of 17 teams in a season-best 3:20.54, which ranks second on the NE10 performance list. Boyd again ran the lead leg, followed by sophomore Andrew Scarlotto (Portsmouth, New Hampshire/Portsmouth) and junior Daniel Madsen (West Haven, Connecticut/Notre Dame-West Haven), with junior All-American Stephen Vercollone (Pembroke, Massachusetts/Pembroke) running the anchor leg.
Junior All-Americans Lucas Taxter (Readville, Massachusetts/Xaverian Brothers) and Alexander Demeule (Merrimac, Massachusetts/Pentucket Regional) led Stonehill's 4x800-meter relay to first place in a season-best 7:50.80, tops in the NE10 this season. Taxter ran the lead leg, followed by Demeule and then junior Christopher Drace (Franklin, New Jersey/Pope John XXIII), with classmate Riley Dowd (Peabody, Massachusetts/Peabody Veterans Memorial) completing the anchor leg.
Freshman Ethan Famiano (Warwick, Rhode Island/Bishop Hendricken) finished sixth out of 22 entries in the 110-meter high hurdles with a time of 15.62-seconds, while sophomore Collin Kuchachik (Orange, Connecticut/Amity Regional) placed 12th in 16.28-seconds.
Stonehill is back in action next weekend, when it splits its program between the Holy Cross Invitational on Thursday through Saturday, as well as the Larry Ellis Invitational, hosted by Princeton University, Friday and Saturday. Stonehill will host its 11th annual Skyhawk Invitational on Saturday, April 28.
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