Fitchburg, MA --- Sophomore Terrence Gibson (Rockland, MA) highlighted three first-place finishes with the top spot in the 110 meter hurdles (15.13) to qualify for the Open New England's to help Worcester State take home second overall at the Eric Loeschner Invitational on Saturday afternoon.
Tufts won the meet with 167 points while the Lancers weren't far behind with 100.5 points, who out-distanced MASCAC/Alliance Champion Bridgewater State (94) and Division II Franklin Pierce (84).
Junior Andrew Johnson (Thompson, CT) took the top spot in the high jump (6-4/1.93m) as the 4x400 meter relay team of senior Jon Parrella (Wilmington, MA), classmate Tim Mazeika (Millbury, MA) along with sophomores Shaun Corum (Billerica, MA) and Stephen Gannon (Foxboro, MA) placed first with a time of 3:27.54.
Second-year Duy Truong (Worcester, MA, Doherty) was second in the 110 hurdles with an ECAC Championship time (15.70) while Parrella and junior Kevin Maciel (Tewksbury, MA) both finished second (57.11) and third (57.93), respectively in the 400 meter hurdles.
In addition to his solid performance on the 4x400 relay, Mazeika clocked a season-best split of 1:58.48 in the 800, which is less than a second off the Division III New England outdoor standard.
The 4x100 relay team of Corum, sophomore Matthew Alley (Milford, MA), Parrella and senior Luke Curtis (Dudley, MA) sprinted to third with a split of 43.73.
Gibson also chipped in with fourth in the 100 (11.35) and fifth in the 200 (22.93) as Tuong posted ninth in the 100 (11.52). Senior Kerry Sabanty (Stoughton, MA) placed seventh in the 400 meter hurdles (1:00.84) while Alley was 10th in the 200 (23.49).
Gannon rounded out the sprints group with fifth in the 400 (51.01) to score points for the Lancers.
In the field, sophomore Daniel Ross (Foxboro, MA) cleared 6-2 for third in the high jump (1.88m) while junior Steve Fleming (Ludlow, MA) added fifth in the pole vault (13-1.5/4.00m).
Sophomore Mario De Jesus (Lawrence, MA) had a toss of fifth in the javelin (161-7/49.25m) as sophomore Robert White (Ludlow, MA) and Al Mandragouras (Newbury, MA) both placed 9th (119-6/36.42m) and 10th (118-3/36.05m), respectively, in the discus.
Freshman Dana Perry (Mendon, MA) chalked up ninth in the long jump (20-1/6.12m).
The men's outdoor track and field team heads to the Holy Cross Quad meet on Tuesday for a warm-up to the MASCAC/Alliance Championships on Saturday, April 27 at Bridgewater State.