NORTON, Mass. – It was another team victory for the UMass Dartmouth men's track & field team as they won the Wheaton Invitational on Saturday at the Haas Athletic Center. The Corsairs posted 125 points on the day, besting WPI (83), Springfield (72), Wheaton (60) and Division I, Bryant (52) in the top five.
It was another incredible weekend of action that saw the Corsairs post four individual victories, seven season's best performances, 16 personal records and 30 finishes in the Top 10.
The field events saw sophomore
Justin Andrade earn second overall in the long jump, posting a mark of 6.36 meters (20' 10.5"). Rookie
Devin Nieves took ninth on the day with a mark of 6.03 meters (19' 9.5"), while classmate
Scott Amin was 11th with a distance of 5.50 meters (18' .5"). Rounding out the action in the long jump was rookie
Kenny Jean-Michel, who finished 14th overall with a mark of 4.71 meters (15' 5.5").
The high jump saw another outstanding finish for the Corsairs as Amin posted second overall with a season's-best height of 1.90 meters (6' 2.75"). That mark was also a DIII New England and NEICAAA qualifying standard. Rookie
Sean Patrone posted third with a mark of 1.85 meters (6' 0.75"), as did junior
Vincenzo Videtta. Jean-Michel also had a mark of 1.85 meters (6' 0.75"), taking sixth.
In the weight throw, senior
Joseph Uwanogho recorded his third straight victory – and fourth overall of the season – posting a mark of 18.04 meters (59' 2.25") – earning another DIII New England and NEICAAA qualifying standard for the season. Rookie
Kevin Saenz posted 14th overall with a throw of 11.53 meters (37' 10"), while classmate
Ancil Alexander was 16th overall with a mark of 10.89 meters (35' 8.75"). Rounding out the action was rookie
Mickey Valentino, who was 17th with a throw of 10.61 meters (34' 9.75").
The final field event of the day – the shot put – saw Alexander post second overall with a mark of 14.10 meters (46' 3.25"). That throw was also another DIII New England standard for the season. Valentino was 11th overall with a throw of 12.48 meters (40' 11.5"), while Uwanogho was 12th with a distance of 12.45 meters (40' 10.25"). Saenz was right behind, finishing 13th overall with a mark of 12.42 meters (40' 9").
Shifting to the track, the 1 Mile race saw a bevy of Corsair finishes in the top 10 paced by junior
Ethan Sylvia, who took third in 4:37.66. Sophomore
James Carriere was fourth with a personal record mark of 4:39.66, while rookie
Connor Bruni took sixth in a personal record mark of 4:42.65. Junior
Colin Ozturk was next across in eighth with a PR of 4:46.26, while sophomore
Ronan Maloney finished ninth in 4:46.67. Rookie
Michael Gemelli rounded out the action in 11th with a season's best time of 5:06.82.
In the 60-meter dash, senior
Xavier Manuel claimed victory, recording a personal record time of 6.97 – which also ranks in the top 70 in NCAA DIII. In addition, it marked another DIII New England and NEICAAA qualifying standard on the season. Andrade took seventh overall with a mark of 7.17. Next, in the 400-meter dash, junior
James Christie posted eighth with a mark of 54.01, while rookie
Isaac Toweh was 11th in 58.80. Sophomore
Josh Kurutu was 12th in a personal record time of 1:02.00, while junior
Fernando Gaspar Rodriguez had a personal record mark of 1:02.89 to take 13th.
It was a 1-2-3-4 finish for the Corsairs in the 1,000-meters as graduate student
Davis Preston earned the win with a time of 2:36.19. That mark was also a DIII New England qualifying standard. Rookie
Jackson Caron placed second with a PR time of 2:38.48, followed by sophomore
Joseph Stanton in third with a PR time of 2:38.58. Sophomore
Zack Shute concluded the top-four finish, notching a PR time of 2:40.90 for fourth.
Sophomore
Tyler Scanlon went on to take seventh in the 1,000 with a PR time of 2:46.74, while classmate
Ben Bairos was 11th with a PR of 2:51.88. Junior
Cooper Blatz finished 13th overall in 2:54.57, while rookies
Daniel Terpinas and
Jack Barbato were 15th (2:59.43) and 18th (3:00.61), respectively.
The 200-meter dash saw Manuel earn second overall with a season's best time of 22.95. That mark was also a DIII New England qualifying standard. Andrade finished eighth with a personal record time of 23.72, while junior
Jalen Castillo was 13th in 23.97. Rookie
Jonathan Gourdine posted 17th with a time of 24.28, while rookie
Maddox Dupre was 22nd in 24.82. Junior
Elan Ben Yosef was 23rd (24.96), followed by rookie
Kevin Ayala in 24th (25.45), Nieves in 25th (25.87) and junior
Jaylan Vaughn in 26th (25.90).
The 3,000-meters saw sophomore
Cameron Thompson earn the victory, crossing the finish in a personal record time of 8:48.34. Fifth-year
Jake Paris was second with a season's best time of 8:51.36.
The final event of the day – the 4x400-meter relay – saw the Corsairs with four different teams in the field. Leading the way in fifth was the foursome of rookies
Zane Gordon and
Joseph Diauto, along with Gourdine and Ben Yosef as they posted a season's best mark of 3:38.85. Taking sixth was the foursome of Shute, Preston, Caron and Christie, who notched a season's best mark of 3:40.81.
Finishing seventh was the group of Stanton, Scanlon, Paris and Thompson, who combined for a time of 3:45.03, while Carriere, Sylvia, Bruni and Gemelli posted eighth with a mark of 3:53.34.
The Corsairs return to action next weekend in a pair of meets. UMass Dartmouth travels to New London, Conn., for the Coast Guard Winter Classic on Friday, before heading to the Tufts Cupid Invitational in Medford, Mass., on Saturday.
