NEW LONDON, Conn. – Powered by seven victories on the day, the UMass Dartmouth men's track & field team won the Coast Guard Spring Invitational at Nitchman Track on Saturday. The Corsairs compiled 147 points, besting Little East-rival Eastern Connecticut State (104) and eight other teams at the meet.
The Corsairs saw things get underway with a victory as senior
Connor Richard won the javelin throw with a mark of 59.44 meters (195' 0"). Next up was the hammer throw as rookie
Mickey Valentino took 11th overall with a distance of 37.34 meters (122' 6").
In the long jump, rookie
Scott Amin was seventh overall, finishing with a distance of 6.22 meters (20' 5"). Classmate
Devin Nieves also had a solid effort, taking 13th overall with a mark of 5.65 meters (18' 6.5").
Next up was the high jump and a 1-2-2 finish for the Corsairs, paced by a victory from rookie
Sean Patrone as he posted a height of 1.95 meters (6' 4.75"). Amin and junior
Vincenzo Videtta were next as each posted heights of 1.90 meters (6' 2.75") to tie. Rookie
Kenny Jean-Michel rounded out the outstanding efforts for UMD with a fifth-place finish. He recorded a height of 1.85 meters (6' 0.75").
The shot put was paced by rookie
Ancil Alexander, who took second overall with a throw of 13.68 meters (44' 10.75"). Classmate
Kevin Saenz posted seventh overall with a mark of 12.37 meters (40' 7"), while Valentino posted a mark of 10.89 meters (35' 8.75") for 20th. In the triple jump, Ayala finished seventh overall with a collegiate-best distance of 11.30 meters (37' 1").
In the discus throw, Alexander picked up the victory – his third straight of the outdoor season – with a mark of 48.91 meters (160' 5"). His mark was not only a collegiate-best, but tops his own school record mark, set the first weekend of the season at Wesleyan (47.09m). Saenz finished eighth in the event with a throw of 36.81 meters (120' 9").
In the track events, the 4x100-meter relay kicked things off in fine fashion as junior
Jalen Castillo, rookies
Daniel Jordan and
Zane Gordon, along with senior
Xavier Manuel claimed victory. The foursome combined for a time of 43.00.
Next up was the 1500-meter run as sophomore
Joseph Stanton took fifth overall in a time of 4:10.78. Junior
Ethan Sylvia was next across with a mark of 4:15.23 – good for 17th – while sophomore
James Carriere was 19th with a time of 4:16.43.
Sophomore
Zack Shute posted 29th in the 1500m with a time of 4:20.62, while classmate
Ronan Maloney was 31st overall, crossing in 4:21.07. Rookie
Connor Bruni posted 37th with a time of 4:24.04, while classmate
Michael Gemelli had a time of 4:37.27 for 56th overall.
In the 110-meter hurdles, rookie
Bryce Tessier posted second overall, crossing the finish line in 15.62 – his first ever collegiate race in the event. The 400-meter dash was next as senior
Nico LaCortiglia placed seventh in 52.44. Junior
James Christie was close behind in eighth with a mark of 52.77, while sophomore
RJ Stone was 14th in 53.90. Rookie
Jonathan Gourdine posted 17th overall in 55.10 as junior
Fernando Gaspar Rodriguez and sophomore
Josh Kurutu were 23rd (59.76) and 26th (1:02.15), respectively.
Manuel powered his way to victory in the 100-meter dash, posting a collegiate-best time of 10.86. Sophomore
Justin Andrade was close behind, taking third overall with a personal best time of 11.28 in his first collegiate running of the event. Castillo was 10th overall in 11.61, while rookie
Maddox Dupre posted 13th in 11.66. Nieves went on to post a mark of 11.92 for 22nd, while rookie
Kevin Ayala was 27th in 12.23.
The victories continued into the 800-meter run as sophomore
Cameron Thompson claimed the top spot with a collegiate-best time of 1:57.97. Fifth-year
Jake Paris recorded eighth overall with a collegiate-best mark of his own – crossing in 2:02.92, while rookie
Jack Barbato was 17th in a collegiate-best of 2:06.50. Sophomore
Tyler Scanlon was 20th with a mark of 2:06.92, followed by classmate
Ben Bairos in 22nd – recording a time of 2:07.96. Rounding out the action was rookie
Daniel Terpinas – finishing 32nd in 2:12.38.
Another victory came in the 200-meter dash as Manuel claimed his third win of the day with a time of 22.42. Gordon was right behind in second, posting a collegiate-best time of 22.61. Jordan took the fifth spot, notching a collegiate-best time of 22.78, while Andrade was ninth in 23.59.
Gourdine was 16th in the 200m with a mark of 23.89, followed by Dupre in 19th in 24.16. Castillo posted 22nd overall in 24.31, while Nieves and Gaspar Rodriguez were 28th (25.34) and 29th (25.62), respectively.
In the 5000-meter run, grad student
Frank Wenner posted seventh overall with a collegiate-best time of 16:00.47 as junior
Colin Ozturk was 14th in 17:05.49 – also a collegiate-best mark. Classmate
Cooper Blatz finished 15th overall with a time of 17:15.67 – his first time running the event.
The final event of the day saw the 4x400-meter relay take second overall as the group of LaCortiglia, Jordan, Tessier and Gordon posted a time of 3:28.07. The Corsairs also saw Gourdine, Shute, Paris and Barbato finish fifth with a mark of 3:43.68, while Thompson, Stone, Christie and Stanton were sixth in 3:44.13. Finally, the foursome of Sylvia, Maloney, Scanlon and Bruni were seventh with a time of 3:54.29.
The Corsairs return to action next weekend with action at two different meets. Several members of the squad will head to the Silfen Invitational on Friday and Saturday at Connecticut College, while the rest of the squad makes its way to Westfield State for the Jerry Gravel Invitational on Saturday.
