Worcester, MA --- Worcester State College senior Matt Leeds (Bellingham, MA) had first place leaps in the long jump (6.53 meters) and the triple jump (12.36m) to help propel the men’s outdoor track and field team to a fifth place finish at the Worcester City Meet this afternoon hosted by WPI.
The Lancers were also highlighted by strong performances by sophomore Nate Starling (Braintree, MA) and junior RJ Stahelski (S. Deerfield, MA).
Starling clocked second in the 110 meter hurdles (15.82) to qualify for the Division III New England’s before he ended the meet in sixth in the 100 (11.61). Stahelski ran a pair of personal best times as he recorded third in the 200 (23.24) and fourth in the 400 (50.88). Stahelski’s time gives him a ticket to the New England Division III Championships as well in the 400.
Freshman Jon Parella (Wilmington, MA) also placed second in the 400 meter hurdles (59.26) as senior Norman Everett (W. Bridgewater, MA) and sophomore Justin Hunt (Rutland, MA) finished in seventh (37:40.55) and eighth (37:55.87) in the 10,000 meter run, respectively. Rookie Tim Mazeika notched seventh in the 3,000 meter steeplechase (10:52.10) as Jose Henriquez (Methuen, MA) added eighth in the 110 meter hurdles (18.25).
First-year Todd Paquin (Pelham, NH) led a solid field corps as he chalked third in the long jump (6.34m) while senior Jim Macera (Paxton, MA) had tosses of fifth in the discus (37.69m) and sixth in the hammer (43.37m). Sophomore Andrew Garcia (Brea, CA) cleared sixth in the pole vault (3.35m) as Connor Greene rounded things out taking home seventh in the javelin (46.92m).
In relay action, Starling Paquin, Henriquez along with junior Jason Patterson (Attleboro, MA) registered third in the 4x100 meter relay (45.08) and Stahelski, Parella, Mazeika and Leeds finished in sixth in the 4x400 meter relay with a time of 3:44.82.
WPI won the meet with 203 points followed by Fitchburg State (143), Southern Maine (139), Division II Stonehill (105) while WSC tallied 86 team points.
Worcester State competes again next Saturday at Fitchburg State.