WORCESTER, Mass. – The Worcester State University men's outdoor track & field team took part in Holy Cross' Men's Meet on Monday (Apr. 24) - which included competition from two NCAA Division I schools – Holy Cross and the University of Rhode Island.
"The guys moved up on the rankings list for the conference meet, had a number of season or career PRs, qualified for post season in a number of events, and most importantly gained a ton of confidence in their ability to compete well against anyone including Division I competition," commented head coach Al Halper.
After being tabbed the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) track & field rookie of the week today for his performance this past weekend in the high jump, freshman Justin Lewis (Lynn, Mass.) shined again. Lewis notched 1st place in the high jump with a PR leap of 2.07m. With this result, he qualifies for Division III New England, All-New England, and is presently tied for 7th overall in all of NCAA Division III. CJ Hernandez (Lynn, Mass.) followed at 3rd place (1.85m). Markiesh Harmon (Leominster, Mass.) competed in all three jumps, coming in 2nd in the long jump (6.59m), 3rd in the triple jump (12.86m), and 5th in the high jump (1.85m). Worcester State's Edward Boamah (Worcester, Mass.) came in 2nd in the triple jump (13.01m).
Boamah not only performed well in the jumps, but he also led the Lancers in the sprints as he won both the 100 Meter Dash (11.14) and the 200 Meter Dash (22.16). With these results, Boamah earns a Division III New England and an All-New England qualifier and holds the top times in the MASCAC. Phillip Bynum (Peabody, Mass.) placed 3rd in the 100 Meter, while Worcester State's Charles Newman (Westfield, Mass.) and Jared Barros (Taunton, Mass.) took the 2nd and 3rd spots in the 200 Meter Dash in times of 22.34 and 22.49, respectively, to qualify for Division III New England's. The Lancers' Marques Johnson (W. Hartford, Conn.) was the top Worcester State sprinter to finish in the 400 Meter Dash, as he marked a time of 51.15, which stands as a Division III New England qualifier.
Sam Weeks (Methuen, Mass.) captured the titles in both the shot put (16.08m) and discus throw (50.15m) while he also competed in the hammer and javelin throws. Weeks marked a PR in the outdoor shot put with the distance of 16.08m. Marcus Vieira (Peabody, Mass.) was the first Lancer to place in the hammer throw (52.10m) at 3rd, qualifying for All New England's, while Weeks followed at 4th place. Anthony Christo (Peabody, Mass.) and Colin Ford (Middletown, R.I.) came in the next slots. Alexander Mandragouras (Newbury, Mass.) earned a 4th place finish in the javelin throw with a top throw of 47.86m. Weeks competed in the event for the first time and placed 6th with a throw of 42.58m.
Worcester State's Scott Page (Baldwinville, Mass.) was the sole scorer in the 110 Meter Hurdles and came in a time of 17.72. He also took part in the pole vault, in which he just recently broke the Worcester State University school record this past weekend. At today's event he placed 4th at 4.15m. Ian Merry (W. Brookfield, Mass.) followed at 6th place and earned a PR of 3.55m.
Holy Cross and URI dominated the mid-distance events. Michael Ricci (Peabody, Mass.) placed 10th in the 1500 Meter Run (4:15.73), while Devin Luce (Milford, Mass.) was the first Worcester State student-athlete to finish in the 800 Meter Run at 2:03.21.
"This meet is always a good tune-up for our conference meet which is this Saturday," said Halper. "Having the meet today actually makes it easier to taper down the rest of the week into conference and still gave us a solid workout today."
"We now look forward to doing our best at the MASCACs and hopefully bringing home another title," concluded Halper.