WORCESTER, Mass. – Worcester State University's men's indoor track & field student-athletes, Marcus Vieira (Peabody, Mass.) and Sam Weeks (Methuen, Mass.) both have been recognized with 2017 NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field All-New England Honors, as announced by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Monday afternoon.
Vieira is honored for his rankings in the weight throw, while Weeks has been honored for his New England standings in both the weight throw and the shot put.
To be named All-Region, an athlete must either be ranked in the top-5 of an individual event in the region according to final TFRRS data or be part of a top-3 relay team.
"Sam and Marcus have had an outstanding indoor season this year," commented head coach Al Halper. "They have pushed each other to new levels week after week. It has benefited not only the two of them, but their throws squad and the entire team, as they both greatly contributed to our first MASCAC title several weeks ago."
This season, Vieira PR'ed and broke the Worcester State University school record in the weight throw, recording a throw of 17.93m for a first place finish at the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletics Conference (MASCAC)/New England Alliance Championships on Feb. 11. He then notched 4th place in the Division III New England Championships the following weekend with a top throw of 17.07m.
"Marcus fell just short of going to NCAA's this year finishing in 16th place nationally to miss going by .01m for the 15th spot," said Halper. "He was hampered from reaching his goal the past two weeks as he fought off the flu bug, missing the All Division New England meet and being less than fully recovered at the Tufts Last Chance meet."
"Despite being sick the past few weeks, he still had a tremendous indoor campaign including a MASCAC title and, for a week, the school record," mentioned Halper. "To his credit, he is now looking forward to rising to the challenge to make it to the NCAAs in outdoor track and field. You can't keep a good man down!"
Weeks, a MASCAC/Alliance standout in both the weight throw and the shot put, PR'ed in both events this year notching a PR of 18.25m in the weight throw, and a PR of 16.26m in the shot put. Just one week following Vieira's Worcester State record breaking in the weight throw, Weeks came along and took the title on the 18.25m throw at Division III New England's, registering a 1st place finish at the event. Not only was he crowned the Division III New England weight throw champion, but also the shot put (16.08m) at the same event.
Weeks currently sits at 10th place nationally in the weight throw, and will continue the indoor season this weekend when he attends the NCAA Division III Nationals in Naperville, Ill. Hosted by North Central College.
"Sam now has a chance at becoming an All-American in his senior year, and it couldn't be better timing for that."