Another Week, Another Record for McCabe
WESTFIELD, Mass. – Freshman shot put sensation Colin McCabe has done it again. For the third straight week, the Dartmouth, Mass. native has set the Massachusetts Maritime Academy record for putting the shot. Joining him on the record-setting front was Michelle Sheehan, also surpassing her own mark in the 400m from a week prior.
Last week, McCabe put the shot 14.72m at the Corsair Classic to shatter the Academy mark of 13.96 he had set only seven days before. The accomplishment earned him MASCAC Rookie of the Week honors. On Saturday, that number went up again as McCabe put his shot an eye-popping 15.15m, a full three percent more than his last attempt. For the second week in-a-row, however, McCabe was denied first place by UMass-Dartmouth's Jared Louf-Woods, who registered a whopping 16.20 shot to take home first.
At the Corsair Classic, Sheehan set a Buccaneer record with a 1:07.64 sprint in the 400 meter dash, just .36 seconds better than the previous mark set last season. This time, however, the Attleboro, Mass. runner crossed the finish line at 1:05.21, more than two seconds quicker than last week's effort.
More than 20 Buccaneer athletes took part in the Gerry Gravel Classic. Other notable results came from Christopher Mackay, who competed in multiple events, finishing in fourth in the 3000m steeplechase, less than two seconds out of third at 10:28.11. The men finished sixth out of eight, while the women did not have enough athletes to score.
This weekend, the Academy honored Yarmouth Police K9 Officer Sean Gannon, who was killed while serving a warrant this past week. That tribute continued in a memorable way at the Westfield State meet.
"My athletes all know that I am engaged to a Yarmouth Police Officer who is also on the Cape Cod Regional SWAT Team," noted Head Coach Cathy Lohse. "With everything that was happening, I sent out an email to the team informing them that my fiancé is okay, but was called to the scene shortly after the shots were fired.
"I received many text messages and emails from my team thanking me for the update and letting them know what was happening. This team is truly a family. Additionally, I shared with the team how amazing Sean Gannon was and that he was a Westfield graduate, AND had also graduated from Massachusetts Maritime Academy with a Masters in Emergency Management. He was a stand up guy, purely genuine.
"Captain Michelle Sheehan made ribbons for her teammates and coaches to honor Sean Gannon. He was not only a co-worker of my fiancé, but he was also a friend. The team dedicated their meet to Sean, and I couldn't be more proud of how this team came together."
Next week, the track and field squad will compete at the Eastern Connecticut Invitational on Friday. 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!