Connolly won the 400-meter dash in near school-record time and also was a part of a first place 4x400 relay (PHOTO BY SportsPix) |
Connolly leads Skyhawks as part of two first place performances
WORCESTER, Mass. (April 20, 2019) – The Stonehill College men's track & field program turned in ten top five finishes as the lone non-Division I program competing under rainy and windy conditions at the Holy Cross Invitational, hosted by College of the Holy Cross, at Hart Turf and Track Complex, today.
Senior Joe Connolly won the 400-meter dash, leading a list of six from Stonehill out of 11 entries overall, in 48.90-seconds – just 0.27 shy of the school record in his first time running the event outdoors at the collegiate level. Senior All-American Stephen Vercollone took fourth in a personal-best 49.61-seconds while running the event for the first time in three years, while freshman Anthony Magazzu was sixth in a personal-best 50.16, junior Jeremy Breen seventh in 50.97 and sophomore Christopher Lanahan eighth in 51.00-seconds while making his collegiate debut for the event.
Connolly also set the pace for a first place finish in the 4x400-meter relay in 3:19.76. He ran the lead leg in 50.4-seconds unofficially, followed by Magazzu for a 50.3-second split on the second leg, with Breen taking the baton for a 49.7-second third leg, before freshman Jack Bowers completed the anchor leg in 49.2-seconds.
Junior Justin Ireland turned in a pair of individual top fives, starting with a second place finish out of 13 in the 100-meter dash in 10.86-seconds. He also finished third out of 16 entries in the 200-meter dash in 21.86-seconds. Sophomore Desmond Bernal finished sixth in the 100-meters in a personal-best 11.31-seconds, and 13th in the 200m in a personal-record 23.01, while Bowers was seventh in his first collegiate 100-meters in 11.39 and sixth out of 11 in the 400-meter hurdles in 55.46-seconds.
Ireland turned in two more top fives for the Skyhawks on Saturday (PHOTO BY SportsPix) |
Senior Xavier Young also turned in a pair of top fives, placing second out of ten competitors in the shot put with a distance of 50-feet, 8.75-inches. He was also fourth out of 13 in the discus throw with a distance of 134-feet, 6-inches.
Sophomore Jeff Pichie finished third out of 18 runners in the 5000-meter run in a personal-best 15:28.29, while freshman Shane Braz placed sixth in 15:38.28.
Sophomore Ethan Famiano placed fourth in the 110-meter high hurdles in a personal-best 14.90-seconds, while junior Collin Kuchachik took sixth in 15.65-seconds.
Rounding out Stonehill's top five finishes on Saturday, is freshman Robert Lisi, who placed fourth out of eight competitors in the hammer throw, with a personal-best distance of 136-feet, 3-inches.
Other Stonehill Results Include:
Senior Daniel Bomba placed sixth out of 13 entries in the pole vault by clearing a personal-best height of 13-feet, 11.25-inches.
Freshman Nickolas McNamee and senior Matthew Shaw finished 11th and 12th, respectively, out of 18 competitors in the 800-meter run. McNamee clocked in at 1:57.21 while running the event outdoors for the first time in his collegiate career, while Shaw finished in 1:57.78.
Sophomore Sean Conlan was fourth in his debut for the 3000-meter steeplechase in 10:20.24.
Stonehill is back in action next Saturday, when it hosts its annual Skyhawk Invitational at W.B. Mason Stadium, starting at 10 a.m.
For the latest on Stonehill Athletics, follow the Skyhawks via social media on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Fans can also download the Stonehill Skyhawks "Front Row" mobile app, powered by PrestoSports, on iTunes and the Android Market.
