DARTMOUTH, Mass. – Solid performances highlighted an outstanding day for the UMass Dartmouth men's track & field team at their own Corsair Classic. The Corsairs combined to finish second overall among an 11-team field, amassing 123.5 points. UMD finished second only to WPI – who won with 206 points.
It was an outstanding start to the day in the field events as senior
Connor Richard competed in the javelin throw. The event, which featured several of the top throwers in Division III saw the Corsairs thrower take third overall with a personal-best distance of 61.07 meters (200' 4"). His throw keeps him locked into the top-10 in the nation.
In the hammer throw, rookie
Mickey Valentino posted ninth overall with a mark of 38.88 meters (127' 7"), while classmate
Kevin Saenz was 22nd with a distance of 27.89 meters (91' 6"). The shot put saw rookie
Ancil Alexander take second overall with a throw of 14.51 meters (47' 7.25") as Saenz took ninth with a throw of 12.70 meters (41' 8"). Valentino rounded out the efforts in 12th overall with a mark of 11.96 meters (39' 2.75").
High jump action saw rookie
Sean Patrone take the win with a mark of 1.90 meters (6' 2.75). Junior
Vincenzo Videtta was third overall with a jump of 1.85 meters (6' 0.75"), while rookie
Scott Amin was fourth overall with a height of 1.85 meters (6' 0.75").
In the long jump, rookie
Devin Nieves placed 12th with a distance of 5.71 meters (18' 8.75"), while discus action saw Alexander claim the victory as he posted a throw of 46.52 meters (152' 7"). Saenz was 21st overall, recording a throw of 29.49 meters (96' 9"), while in the triple jump, Amin was second with a mark of 12.96 meters (42' 6.25"). Ayala posted 11th in 10.93 meters (35' 10.25").
The track events got underway for the Corsairs in the 4x100-meter relay as junior
Jalen Castillo, rookies
Daniel Jordan and
Zane Gordon, along with senior
Xavier Manuel took second overall with a time of 42.37. The Corsairs also saw rookies
Maddox Dupre and
Jonathan Gourdine, sophomore
Kevin Ayala and Nieves combine for 10th overall with a time of 45.05.
In the 1500-meter run, sophomore
Cameron Thompson took third overall with a mark of 4:04.91. Graduate student
Davis Preston was right behind, earning fourth with a time of 4:09.07, while junior
Ethan Sylvia was 12th in 4:15.87. Rookie
Connor Bruni was 26th in 4:24.97 as juniors
Cooper Blatz and
Colin Ozturk were 34th (4:33.94) and 38th (4:40.79), respectively.
Up next was the 110-meter hurdles as Patrone switched to the track, earning 14th overall with a time of 20.10. The 400-meter dash saw rookie
Zane Gordon finish second overall, posting a time of 49.77, while classmate
Daniel Jordan was fifth in 51.49. Coming across in 11th was sophomore
RJ Stone with a time of 53.03 as junior
Fernando Gaspar Rodriguez was 33rd in 1:01.96.
In the 100-meter dash, Manuel posted second overall with a time of 11.09, while Castillo was 19th in 11.66. Gourdine was 22nd in 11.70, while Dupre finished 30th in 11.94. The Corsairs saw a strong number of competitors in the 800-meter run, paced by sophomore
Joseph Stanton – who posted sixth overall in 2:00.81. Classmate
Zack Shute was 10th in 2:02.32, followed by sophomore
Ronan Maloney in 13th with a mark of 2:06.44.
Rookie
Jack Barbato crossed in 16th overall in the 800-meters with a time of 2:07.49, while sophomore
Tyler Scanlon was 19th in 2:09.49. Rookie
Michael Gemelli was 28th in 2:14.82, rookie
Daniel Terpinas posted 33rd in 2:16.76, followed by junior
Cooper Blatz and sophomore
Ben Bairos in 35th (2:17.86) and 36th (2:17.88), respectively.
Next up was the 400-meter hurdles as rookie
Bryce Tessier won with a time of 56.59. Sophomore
Josh Kurutu posted 19th in 1:10.35. In the 200-meter dash, Manuel powered his way to third overall in 22.25, while Gourdine placed 20th in 23.82. Castillo was 23rd overall in 23.95 as Stone placed 27th in 24.17.
Action continued in the 200m as Dupre posted a time of 24.48 to earn 33rd, while Ayala was 43rd with a time of 25.31. Rounding out the action was junior
Fernando Gaspar Rodriguez, crossing the finish in a time of 25.81 for 50th in the tough field. The 5,000-meter run saw fifth-year
Jake Paris post fifth overall with a mark of 15:35.04, while grad student
Frank Wenner placed 12th in 16:12.89.
Action concluded in the 4x400-meter relay as the foursome of Gordon, Tessier, junior
James Christie and Stanton combined to place second overall with a time of 3:29.51. The Corsairs also saw Thompson, Barbato, Maloney and Shute finish sixth with a time of 3:42.25, while Scanlon, Sylvia, Bairos and Bruni were eighth with a mark of 3:51.91.
UMass Dartmouth returns to action next weekend, traveling to Coast Guard for the Bears Spring Invitational on Saturday in New London, Conn.
