Worcester, MA- The Men's Outdoor Track and Field team opened up their season today at the BSU Bears Invitational at Bridgewater State.Sophomore Brodie Jacques (Rehoboth, MA) and the Men's 4x100m relay team made up of Jacques, first year George Biney (Worcester, MA), sophomore Giovanni Casiano (Oxford, MA) and first year Elvis Velez (Clinton, MA), led the action for the Lancers in their first meet of 2023.
The sprinting was on point in today's meet, not just on the track but in the field as well. Jacques led the way grabbing first place in the 100m with a time of 11.39s after helping lead the Worcester State 4x100 team to a third place finish in a time of 45.82 to open up the day's track events. Jacques also notched a 7th place finish in the high jump recording a height of 1.75m. Racing along with Jacques in the 100m was Velez who finished in 27th at a time of 12.33 seconds, junior Anthony Paolucci (Billerica, MA) in 56th place, crossing in a time of 13.44 seconds and first year Eliezer Gonzalez (Worcester, MA) in 65th in a time of 14.11. First year Taylor Gavaletz (Dudley, MA) also sprinted to success in the 400m Hurdles, finishing in 8th place at a time of 63.85 seconds. Gavaletz sprint success converted to success with a 4th place finish in the triple jump, where his speed helped to launch him 12.26m. Gonzalez utilized his sprinting speed in the jumps as well finishing in 12th for a distance of 10.71m in the triple jump and a 22nd place in the long jump with a leap of 4.96m. Casiano led just a bit further in the long jump to come in 21st with a distance of 5.02m. First Year Alan Gomez (Clinton, MA) added to the sprint finishes this afternoon with a 39th place finish in the 200m, crossing the line in a time of 26.09.
The Lancers found additional success in the distance and middle distances today as senior Daniel Clark (Worcester, MA) found the podium with a 3rd place finish in a time of 2:06.56 in the 800m. First years Seth Boudreau (Douglas, MA) finished his own 800m race in 20th at a time of 2:21.54 while Andrew Stokes (Wilmington, MA) crossed in 30th in a time of 2:37.35. In the 1500m race, earlier in the day, first year Alexander Lucier (Gardner, MA) wrapped up his race in 33rd in a time of 4:34.89 while fellow teammate junior Matthew Talbot (Belchertown, MA) was two second behind in 34th, crossing at 4:36.60. First Year James Riley (Shrewsbury, MA) was the lone runner in the 5000m to finish in 11th with a time of 16:30.63.
Junior Jack Houlihan (Holden, MA) showed strong form in the field events with an 11th place finish in the hammer at a distance of 35.83m as fellow throwers junior Matt Long (East Bridgewater, MA) threw at a distance of 29.80m for 16th and sophomore Max O'Connor was just .01m shy of long for 17th place. Houlihan also controlled the throw with the discuss as well with a third place finish in the discuss with a throw of 39.46m along with teammate O'Connor who came in 8th with a toss of 35.28m. Also controlling in the throwing sector is senior Colin Brennan (Newbury, MA) with a fourth place in the javelin with a toss of 49.16m. Teammate Matt Long (East Bridgewater, MA) came in 17th with a 43.42m.
The Lancers Track and Field team is back in action on next Saturday when they head to UMass Dartmouth for the Corsair Classic.