By Jen Toland, College Beat Writer

May 20, 2015

Worcester, MA --- Jason Sliwoski graduated from Worcester State last Saturday, but his work at WSU is not done.

The Leicester resident, along with classmates Terrence Gibson and Alyssa Jasper, will compete at the NCAA Division 3 Outdoor Track and Field Championships Thursday-Saturday at St. Lawrence University in Canton, New York.

Sliwoski, who just missed out on qualifying for the NCAAs the last three years, is the 15th seed in the decathlon. He registered a school-record total of 6,292 points in his runner-up performance at the Division 3 New England Championships three weeks ago.

"I have been excited since I knew of the possibility of going," Sliwoski said. "It's kind of a big relief I finally made it. It's something I've been working toward knowing I've been so close."

Sliwoski did a little bit of everything — sprints, hurdles, throws — for his small Leicester High team. When Sliowski arrived at Worcester State, coach Al Halper thought Sliwoski should put everything together and add jumps to his repertoire. Sliwoski's brother, Joe, was a decathlete at URI.

"Going in I wasn't new to (the decathlon)," Sliwoski said, "but it was something new to train for."

At the D3 New England meet, Sliwoski was first in both the long jump and discus.

"He's been a consistent performer since day one," Halper said, "and he's helped the team throughout his career. This year, we continued to work on consistency and trying to have his best performance in a lot of events on the same day. He was able to get to the national championships for the first time. That's what we've been preparing him for since he got here."

In addition to discus and hurdles, the pole vault has become a favorite event of Sliwoski's.

Sliwoski earned All-Division 3 New England honors four times. He set a school record in the indoor heptathlon this winter when he finished second with 4,670 points at the Division 3 New England Championships.

Meanwhile, on Tuesday, Gibson was named the USTFCCCA Division 3 New England Region Track Athlete of the Year.

A six-time NCAA participant, Gibson returned to top form this spring after battling some injuries and is the No. 2 seed in the 110 hurdles.

At last weekend's ECAC Division 3 Championships, Gibson won the event in a school-record time of 14.09 seconds.

Gibson, a three-time All-American, finished fourth in the 110 hurdles as a sophomore. He was the national champion in the 60 hurdles in 2012-13 and the national runner-up in the event in 2013-14.

Jasper will compete in the heptathlon and the javelin.

Jasper, who defended her Division 3 New England title in the heptathlon, shattered her own meet record with 4,811 points. She finished eighth in the heptathlon at last year's NCAAs.

"This is what you look for in terms of the overall picture, getting the kids as far as you can get them," said Halper, who has been at Worcester State since 1999 and has overseen the men's program since 2007. "It's a little bit different than a team concept when you get to this level – it's more about the individual. It's time for (Sliwoski, Gibson and Jasper) to shine individually. They're on the national stage."

WPI's Laura Pumphrey (high jump), Liz Pellegrini (400 hurdles) and the 400 relay team of Pellegrini, Maya Rhinehart, Alex Price and Sara Velleca will also compete at the NCAA D3 Championships.

Brian Chabot, who guided the WPI women's team to an undefeated dual meet season, a program-best second-place finish at the NEWMAC Championships and eighth at the ECACs, was named USTFCCCA Division 3 New England Region Women's Coach of the Year.

Worcester Telegram & Gazette Article