ROXBURY, Mass. – The Worcester State University men's track & field team opened up the 2017-18 indoor track & field season on Saturday (Dec. 2) at the UMass Boston Invitational. Justin Lewis (Lynn, Mass.) won the high jump and the Lancers saw second place markings from Scott Page (Winchendon, Mass.), Marcus Vieira (Peabody, Mass.), and Marques Johnson (West Hartford, Conn.).

THE BASICS

December 2, 2017

UMass Boston Invitational

Reggie Lewis

No Team Scoring

WORCESTER STATE TOP PERFORMERS

• Justin Lewis - 1^st Place in High Jump (2.10m/6-10.75)
• Scott Page - 2^nd Place in Pole Vault (4.15m/13-7.25)
• Marcus Vieira - 2^nd Place in 35lb weight throw (17.48m/57-4.25), 2^nd Place in Shot Put (14.56m/47-9.25)
• Marques Johnson - 2^nd Place in 1000M (2:42.32)
• Markiesh Harmon – 4^th Place in High Jump (1.95m/6-4.75), 5^th Place in Long Jump (20—7.25)
• Eddy Acuna – 4^th Place in Shot Put (13.93m/45-8.50), 9^th Place in Weight Throw (13.38m/43-10.75)
• Jacob Roumanos – 6^th Place in Shot Put (13.44m/44-01.25), 7^th Place in Weight Throw (14.13m/46-4.25)
• Jeff Davis – 5^th Place in 500M (1:09.3)
• Giovanny Guzman – 7^th Place in Triple Jump (12.30/40-4.25)
• Mitchell Cupp – 8^th Place in 500M (1:11.60)
• Abdulrazak Frederick – 9^th Place in 60M Hurdles (8.98)
• Edward Boamah – 10^th Place in 200M (23.24)
• Manasseh Konadu – 18^th Place in 60M (7.31)

RECAP

Division III National outdoor high jump champion, Lewis led the "good stuff" by tying the meet record in the high jump and starting where he left off last spring. He had two great attempts at 7'1.25" and just missed. Head coach Al Halper believes his performance today should get him back to nationals in March. Markiesh Harmon (Leominster, Mass.) also had a jump of 6'4.75" to put in a good place in the high jump this early.  

The throwers also showed their strength in the 35lb weight and the shot put. Vieira led the throws crew with two second place finishes and great throws for the first meet. In addition, the Lancers went 2^nd-7^th and 9^th in the weight throw with Jacob Roumanos (Whitman, Mass.) and Eddy Acuna (Newton, Mass.) both getting PRS. In the shot it was 2^nd-4^th and 6^th with Acuna taking the fourth spot and Roumanos finishing sixth.  Page was 2^nd in the pole vault just missing on his vault over 14'3". "He is aiming to get over 15' this season and this first meet is a step in the right direction," said Halper.

In the running events, freshmen Abdulrazak Frederick (Shrewsbury, Mass.) just missed finals in the 60m hurdles by a mere .02. "He is still making adjustments to the increased height of the college hurdles (from 39" to 42") so it was a nice start for him," stated Halper.  Sprinter and jumper Giovanny Guzman (Salem, Mass.) had a solid first collegiate meet finishing 7^th in the triple jump and also having a good first outing in the 60m and 200m races as well as the Long jump. "Gio is also just adjusting to some of the changes we have been making in his technique both in the sprints and the jumps," mentioned Halper.  "As he internalizes these changes more his performance level will develop even more."

Sophomore Edward Boamah (Worcester, Mass.) and junior Curtis Boisvert (Mansfield, Mass.) looked good coming off of football season and limited track work. Halper was pleased with the two of them as they contributed a lot last year.  Boamah made the trip to nationals last spring and hopes to return to the nationals this indoor season.  Johnson finished second in the1000m and Jeff Davis (Old Lyme, Conn.) finished 5^th in the 500m.  "Marques and Jeff should be a factor in the championship meets later in the season," expressed Halper.  "As seniors, we need their quality of performance and leadership to be successful."

COACHES CORNER

Head coach Al Halper commented, "This will be an interesting and competitive indoor season both between members of our squad internally, but also in the conference. The other teams in the conference picked up some solid recruits as did we.  I expect that the conference meet will be a "dogfight" as every team has picked up some outstanding athletes who can make a difference and affect the overall outcome.  I told my guys that despite the hard work they have displayed so far, they need to work even harder to insure that we can be ready and "show up" when it counts later in the season."

UP NEXT

The men's track & field team returns to the Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center next Saturday (Dec. 9) for the Northeastern Invitational.

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