© Gabriel Fidler
© Gabriel Fidler

McCabe, Sheehan Set Maritime Track and Field Records

McCabe, Sheehan Set Maritime Track and Field Records

DARTMOUTH, Mass. – Freshman Colin McCabe shattered his own school record for shot put and Michelle Sheehan set a Massachusetts Maritime Academy mark in the 400 meters at Saturday's Corsair Classic. The men's 4x100 meter relay finished second, only seconds off the Academy's top mark as the Buccaneer women competed in seven events and the men 14.

McCabe, a warm and easygoing two-sport star for the Academy, is off to a sensational start to his track and field career. Fresh off a Second Team All-MASCAC selection as a defensive lineman for the Buccaneer football team, McCabe made waves in his first field competition last week as he put the shot 13.96 meters. His effort beat the previous mark by .01 meters, but this week's shot may not have been heard around the world, but it definitely echoed around Buzzards Bay.

McCabe registered an incredible 14.72m put, handily beating out third-place contender Austin James from Bridgewater State University at 13.38m. The Dartmouth native lost out on home turf to UMass-Dartmouth's Jared Louf-Woods, a Corsair senior, for the title. Still, his excellent work was more than five percent better than his record-breaker last week. The best may yet be to come for McCabe, who set a Dartmouth HS record with a 17.40m shot in 2017, breaking a 53-year old mark set by his coach, Wayne "Rock" Cordeiro.

Meanwhile, Sheehan was making waves herself. Though the sophomore had to settle for seventh, she set a Maritime record with a 1:07.64 400 meter dash. The previous mark was set only last year by Emma Sullivan at 1:08.00. Sullivan herself was less than eight seconds behind Sheehan at 1:14.91.

In team events, the men's 4x100 relay team of Ian Chester, Michael Monahan, Luke Bridges, and Ryan Hayes were only 2.3 seconds behind the winning combination of Plymouth State University's A Team, who won the race at 45.11. Maritime's best-ever result was at :44.31 in 2013, only 3.1 seconds quicker.

Other notables include Bridges, a sophomore, who finished .09 seconds off the all-time Maritime record in the 100 meters at :11.69, placing ninth out of 34. Christopher MacKay placed ninth in the 1500 meters at 4:29.84, just over 12 seconds off the MMA record of 4:17.59. Cummings' long jump of 5.70m was seventh and only .24m off a bronze medal.

It was a good day for MMA shot put, as Mottl, another first-year, had an 11.90m put, good for seventh out of 23, while Mitchell Conroy (10.93m) and Rob Proude (10.78) were 10th and 11th. Conroy's 37.13m discus throw was seventh, while Proude (29.91m) rounded out the top 10.

Overall, the Buccaneer women finished 13 as the Corsairs handling won their meet on the women's side at 158 points. Roger Williams University (122.5) and Bridgewater (108.5) also medalled. Meanwhile, Bridgewater took first in the men's at a whopping 195 points, only a single marker above UMass-Dartmouth. Plymouth took third at 89.5, while Mass Maritime was eighth of 13 at 26 points, besting four NCAA D-III universities and one community college.

One day earlier, McCabe was denied a second-straight gold medal at the Regis Spring Track Classic as the event was cancelled before all shots could be put. The winner had a 12.77m put, which would have been best by even a solid McCabe shot. However, Proude won Flight I at 10.85m, beating 15 other competitors. Mottl and Conroy finished sixth and eighth in Flight II.

Only two men's and two women's events were contested, with Murray competing in the women's hammer and the Bucs 4x100 team finishing fifth of seven at 50.92.

Next week, track and field will venture to Westfield State University for a Friday meet, while the top Buccaneer athletes will go on to the Sean Collier Invitational at MIT the following day.

Keep track of all Buccaneer sports at www.mmabucs.com, plus get the inside scoop on Facebook and Twitter @mmabuccaneers. Check out our new Instagram as well, @massmaritimebuccaneers!