Freshman Nicholas Staley provisionally qualified for the NCAA Division II Championships in the high jump.

Freshmen lead the way for Skyhawks in opening meet

Freshman Nicholas Staley (Medway, Mass./BC High) provisionally qualified for the NCAA Division II Championships in March with a first place finish in the high jump by clearing 6-feet, 9.75-inches in his collegiate debut.

Freshman Nicholas Capezzuto (North Reading, Mass./North Reading) was also victorious in his collegiate debut as he won the 800-meter run with a time of 1:57.65. Sophomore Shawn Cronin (Peabody, Mass./Peabody Veterans Memorial) placed fifth in the field of 20 runners in 2:00.40.

Freshman Patrick Cooney (Douglaston, N.Y./Archbishop Molloy) tied for first in the 1000-meters with a time of 2:30.43, matching the time of University of New Hampshire sophomore Kevin Greene.

Freshman Nicholas Capezzuto won the 800-meters in his collegiate debut.

Stonehill placed three runners in the top ten and six in the top 20 in the field of 56 competitors in the mile run. Junior All-American Sean Hanlon (Georgetown, Mass./St. John's Prep) led the way with a second place finish in 4:16.97, with freshman Daniel Zawalich (Paxton, Mass./St. John's) right behind in third in 4:17.54. Junior Sam Spencer (Seekonk, Mass./Seekonk) also turned in a top ten finish with his time of 4:19.17 to place eighth, while sophomore Justin Blaszczyk (Saint James, N.Y./Smithtown) took 11^th in 4:22.21.

Sophomore Xavier Harris-Dixon (New Bedford, Mass./New Bedford) placed fourth in the 55-meter high hurdles with his time of 7.93-seconds. He qualified for the final third with a time of 7.83-seconds in his preliminary race.

Junior Luke Byrnes (Glen Head, N.Y./Chaminade) placed seventh, fourth among collegiate entries, in the pole vault by clearing 12-feet, 11.50-inches. Sophomore Ryan Perkins (Shrewsbury, Mass./St. John's) placed ninth (fifth collegiately) with a height of 12-11.50, but needing more attempts.

Freshman Patrick Cooney tied for first in the 1000-meters in his first collegiate meet.

Other Stonehill highlights include:

Sophomore Herby Saintil (Roslindale, Mass./BC High) placed seventh in the triple jump with a distance of 44-feet, 7-inches. He also posted a 26^th place finish in the 200-meter dash in 23.94-seconds.

Freshman Robert Smith (Woburn, Mass./Woburn Memorial) placed 11^th in the long jump with a distance of 20-feet, 3.50-inches.

Freshman Daniel Cormier (Methuen, Mass./Methuen) finished 14^th (out of 39 entries) in the shot put with a throw of 42-feet, 2.25-inches.

Freshman Bryan Wilcox (Plantsville, Conn./Southington) placed 15^th (in the field of 52 competitors) in the 3000-meter run with his time of 9:07.30.

Sophomore Thomas Yates (Baldwin, Maine/Cheverus) was 15^th in the weight throw with a distance of 41-feet, 4.50-inches.

Sophomore Michael Harris (Danvers, Mass./Danvers) placed 18^th (out of 79 sprinters) in the 55-meter dash with a qualifying time of 6.84-seconds. Junior Colin Prior (Georgetown, Mass./St. John's Prep) was 33^rd in 6.94-seconds. Prior was also 16^th out of 87 competitors in the 200-meter dash with a time of 23.76-seconds, while junior Ariel Francisco (Bronx, N.Y./Mount Saint Michael Academy) was 19^th in 23.82. Francisco also placed 36^th in the 400-meter dash in 55.49-seconds.

Freshmen Michael Gendron (Lowell, Mass./Lowell) and Zachary Bagan (Syracuse, N.Y./East Longmeadow (Mass.)) finished 21^st and 22^nd, respectively, in the 5000-meter run. Gendron posted a time of 15:57.57, while Bagan finished in 16:02.11.

Stonehill returns to action next Saturday when it participates in the Reggie Poyau Invitational at Brandeis University starting at 11 a.m.