Women Second, Men Fourth at MASCAC Championships

NORTHAMPTON, Mass. - The Worcester State University men's and women's indoor track & field teams competed Saturday in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference Championships, hosted by Westfield State University at Smith College. The women's team placed second, while the men placed fourth.

The Lancers combined to win five individual MASCAC championships on the day, as well as one relay championship. Freshman Avonia Herbert (Sharon, Mass.) took home three medals on the day, winning the 200 meter dash and the triple jump, while she was also the final leg on the 4x200 meter relay team that took first place. Joining Herbert on the relay team were freshmen Elena Pellegrini (Ashland, Mass.) and Brooke Barriss (Melrose, Mass.) and senior Abigail MacGregor (Salem, N.H.). Pellegrini was the MASCAC individual champion in the 60 meter dash, while freshman Maureen Grady (Douglas, Mass.) won the long jump. On the men's side, senior Eddy Acuna (Newton, Mass.) grabbed Worcester State's lone individual championship in the shot put.

The women's sprinters were dominant on the afternoon. In addition to their bevy of individual championships, Worcester State finished in the top four spots in the 60 meter dash, as Grady, junior Bernice Mensah (Worcester, Mass.), and Barriss took second, third, and fourth respectively. Worcester State also took the top three spots in the 200 meter dash, with MacGregor in second and Pellegrini in third, in addition to Barriss in sixth.

Off the track, the Lancers had a handful of point scorers on the day. Mensah and Grady finished in second and fourth respectively in the triple jump, while Lauren Waters (Mansfield, Mass.) placed third in the long jump. The top Lancer in the women's weight throw was freshman Gabriela Ribeiro (Woonsocket, R.I.), placing fifth.

Herbert rounded out an incredibly impressive day with a second place finish in the 60 meter hurdles. Junior Megan Gurlitz (Auburn, Mass.) was fourth in the same event. Senior Megan Foley (Orange, Conn.) scored points in a pair of distance events for Worcester State, placing second in the 5,000 meter run and fifth in the 3,000 meter run. In the mile, sophomore Kasey Clark (Dudley, Mass.) was fifth and sophomore Ryann Molinari (Grafton, Mass.) was sixth.

Senior Brenda Thomas (Worcester, Mass.) and junior Kyra Siano (North Attleboro, Mass.) each had second place finishes on the day, in the 400 meter dash and 800 meter run respectively. In the 400 meter, Rachel Stier (Mansfield, Mass.) placed fifth, while Courtney Guay (Londonderry, N.H.) was sixth in the 800 meter. Rounding out Worcester State's individual point scorers were senior Carrie Girardin (Auburn, Mass.) and junior Shaylee Puleo (Tewksbury, Mass.), the fifth place finishers in the 600 meter and 1,000 meter runs respectively.

On the men's side, Dariel Canela (Peabody, Mass.), Kyle Haley (Mansfield, Mass.), and Sam Magee (Salem, Mass.) each scored points in a pair of events on the day. Canela placed second in the weight throw and fifth in the shot put, while Haley was second in the triple jump and sixth in the long jump. In the 1,000 meter run, Magee was fifth, while he was sixth in the mile run.

The Lancers had two point scorers in the pole vault, with Ian Merry (West Brookfield, Mass.) placing fourth and Hoang Vo (Worcester, Mass.) placing fifth. Rounding out Worcester's point scorers were fourth place finisher in the 5,000 meter run Wayne Carey (Shrewsbury, Mass.), fifth place finisher in the 800 meter run Richie Custodio (Wakefield, Mass.), and sixth place finisher in the weight throw Bryce Cleveland (Orange, Mass.).

A selection of Lancers will be back on the track in two weeks for the New England Regionals. The men's meet takes place at Springfield College, while the women head to Middlebury College.

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