Taxter improved his NCAA provisional qualifying time in the mile and now ranks third nationally (PHOTO BY Lewis Glass/SportsPix) |
Senior All-Americans lead Skyhawks contingent at John Thomas Terrier Invitational
Skyhawks post four event wins at Tufts for second place team finish
EASTON, Mass. (January 26, 2019) – The Stonehill College men's track and field program split amongst two events on Saturday, with three student-athletes competing at the John Thomas Terrier Invitational, hosted by Boston University, and also turning in a second place team finish at the Branwen Smith-King Invitational, hosted by Tufts University.
Senior All-American Lucas Taxter improved his NCAA Division II Championships provisional qualifying time with his 16th place finish out of 140 entries at Boston University in the one mile run in 4:09.49. He placed ninth among collegiate runners in the event and second among NE10 runners, moving up to third nationally from ninth with his season-best time as he looks to qualify for the NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field Championships, hosted by Pittsburg State University, in Pittsburg, Kansas, in March.
Senior All-American Stephen Vercollone also provisionally qualified for the NCAA Division II Championships in the 800-meter run at BU, placing 18th out of 140 entries in a season-best 1:52.95, 13th among collegiate runners in the event and third among NCAA Division II entries. Vercollone currently ranks 15th nationally and second among NE10 runners in the event.
Senior Joe Connolly placed 16th out of 137 entries in the 200-meter dash at BU in a personal-best 22.02-seconds, winning his section. He finished 12th out of collegiate entries and second among NCAA Division II sprinters.
Vercollone provisionally qualified for the NCAA Championships in the 800-meter run (PHOTO BY Lewis Glass/SportsPix) |
Junior Justin Ireland won the 60-meter dash finals at Tufts in a meet-record and personal-best 6.99-seconds. He qualified third for the finals with a time of 7.11-seconds in the event semifinals after posting the second-fastest prelim time of 7.12-seconds in the field of 71 sprinters. Sophomore Desmond Bernal qualified for the semifinals with a preliminary time of 7.28-seconds for eighth overall, then finished 13th in the semis in 7.32. Bernal also finished third out of 58 entries in the 200-meter dash in a personal-best 23.34-seconds.
Sophomore Hampton Boyd won the 400-meter dash at Tufts in a meet-record 50.20-seconds, leading a list of 38 competitors, including four from Stonehill who all finished in the top ten. Freshman Anthony Magazzu placed sixth in a personal-best 51.98-seconds, with junior Andrew Scarlotto finishing eighth in a season-best 52.44-seconds and freshman Jack Bowers ninth in 52.57.
The quartet also combined to lead Stonehill to fourth out of ten teams in the 4x400-meter relay in 3:35.30. Magazzu ran the lead leg, followed by Bowers and Scarlotto, before Boyd took the baton for the anchor leg.
Freshman Nickolas McNamee took first place in the one mile run, leading a pack of three Stonehill runners in the top four in the field of 39 runners overall in a personal-best 4:22.05. Junior Riley Dowd finished fourth in 4:25.60, while senior Christopher Drace was fifth in 4:27.16.
Dowd also anchored Stonehill's 4x800-meter B-relay team to first place in 8:13.11, sweeping the top two spots out of nine teams overall, along with junior Jeremy Breen, sophomore Jack Herndon and McNamee. Breen ran the opening leg in 2:02.3-seconds, followed by Herdon with a 2:05 split and then McNamee with a 2:03.5 split on the third leg, before Dowd completed the anchor leg in 2:02.1. Stonehill's A-relay of Drace, senior Matthew Shaw and sophomores Jack Herndon and Christopher Lanahan took second in 8:13.15.
Ireland posted a personal-best 6.99-seconds in the 60-meter dash at Tufts (PHOTO BY Lewis Glass/SportsPix) |
Lanahan led six Stonehill runners, including four in the top eight, out of 30 total entries in the 800-meter run with a third place finish in 1:59.04. Shaw was right behind in fourth in 1:59.22, while Breen was sixth in 2:00.03 and sophomore Jack Herndon was eighth in a personal-best 2:00.83.
Stonehill took second place in the team standings at Tufts with 107 points, while the host Jumbos won the team title with 121 points.
Other Stonehill Results at Tufts Include:
Sophomore Jeff Pichie finished second out of 11 runners in the 5000-meter run in 15:49.10, while freshman Shane Braz was third in 15:53.32.
Sophomore Ethan Famiano and junior Collin Kuchachik both qualified for the finals in the 60-meter hurdles, finishing third and sixth, respectively. Famiano clocked in at 8.59-seconds in the final after qualifying third out of 25 entries in 8.71-seconds in the prelims. Kuchachik finished in 8.84-seconds in the final, after qualifying fifth overall in 8.77-seconds in the prelims.
Senior Xavier Young placed sixth out of 61 throwers competing in the shot put with a distance of 46-feet, 5.25-inches. Classmate Darren Shi placed 28th at 39-00.25. Shi was also 16th out of 50 entries in the weight throw with a distance of 44-feet, 3.25-inches.
Senior Daniel Bomba placed 11th out of 20 competitors in the pole vault in 13-feet, 5.25-inches, matching the seventh place height, but needing two attempts to clear.
Stonehill is back in action next weekend, when it competes at the New England Intercollegiate Indoor Track & Field Championships at the Reggie Lewis Track & Athletic Center. Friday's events start at noon, with Saturday finals beginning at 11 a.m.
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