MASSACHUSETTS MARITIME OUTDOOR TRACK & FIELD

Connecticut College Silfen Invitational

Saturday, April 20, 2013

New London, Conn.

NEW LONDON, Conn. --  The Massachusetts Maritime outdoor track & field team tuned up for next weekend’s conference championships with one of the best days in program history at the Connecticut College Silfen Invitational, as the Buccaneers took top honors in three events, recorded 26 top 10 individual performances and set four school records in placing third of 11 teams on the men’s side and scoring 13 points in women’s competition.

Senior Eric Shea (Milton, Mass.) set a school record in winning the shot put on the men’s side with a mark of 13.90 meters, while sophomores Zachary Poh (Bridgewater, Mass.) and Tim Lawler (Newburyport, Mass.) also captured individual event crowns in the discus (43.83 meters) and javelin (52.22 meters), respectively.  Poh added two more top eight finishes for Massachusetts Maritime in the shot put (12.49 meters) and hammer throw (37.26 meters).

Junior Robert Gratzer (Pembroke, Mass.) finished as runner-up to Poh in the discus with a mark of 42.04 meters while adding a seventh place finish in the shot put (12.39 meters), while junior Kelci Sullivan (Hanson, Mass.) set a school record in the 10,000 meters (42:31.63) and narrowly missed qualifying for the Division III New England Championships.  Sophomore E.J. Bennett (East Wareham, Mass.) and freshman Brendan Smith (Dartmouth, Mass.) accounted for the other school record performances on the day for the Buccaneers, as Bennett finished fourth in the 400 meters (52.03) while Smith placed fifth in the 110 meter hurdles (17.25) while adding a sixth place finish in the 100 meters (11.90).

Senior Laurence Tagger (Bourne, Mass.) added two top five finishes on the day, as he placed fourth in the 100 meters (11.84) and fifth in the 200 meters (23.84), while sophomore Sam Hill (Hopkinton, N.H.) finished fifth in the 400 meter hurdles (1:00.97) and sixth in the 110 meter hurdles (18.32) for Massachusetts Maritime.  Junior Steven Ellershaw (Chester, Mass.) and sophomore Danielle Soar (Templeton, Mass.) added fifth place performances in their respective javelin events with mark of 43.48 and 27.62 meters.

Senior Michael Rourke (Stoneham, Mass.) collected a sixth place finish in the shot put (12.43 meters) while adding a seventh place finish in the javelin (41.65) for the Buccaneers, who also received a seventh place performance from senior Evan Balderelli (Brimfield, Mass.) in the 400 meter hurdles (1:01.51).  Junior Ted Mello (Acushnet, Mass.) recorded a pair of seventh place finishes in the long jump (5.59 meters) and triple jump (11.44 meters) while placing eighth in the 100 meters (12.05), while the trio of sophomore Cody Carneiro (Wrentham, Mass.), senior Tom Turner (Westmoreland, N.H.) and sophomore Godfred Mbengam (Randolph, Mass.) finished eighth, ninth and 10^th, respectively in the javelin (38.16 meters), 3,000 meter steeplechase (14:12.69) and 400 meters (52.03).  Massachusetts Maritime also finished third in the 4 x 100 meter relay (44.88) and fifth in the 4 x 400 meter relay (3:33.19) on the day.

Rhode Island College captured both the men’s and women’s team titles on the day, as the Anchormen (183 points) outdistanced runner-up Coast Guard (120 points) and the third place Buccaneers (100 points) on the men’s side while edging host Connecticut College in the women’s competition.

Massachusetts Maritime will compete for the respective Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference and New England Alliance Championships next Saturday morning at Bridgewater State’s Swenson Track in Bridgewater, Mass. beginning at 10:00 a.m.