Sports Hotline
860-465-5756
Saturday, April 26, 2008
JOSEPH SHINES AT LITTLE EAST /NE ALLIANCE MEET
Senior posts 1-2-3 finishes and runs leg of winning relay at championships
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Senior Archie Joseph (Livingston, NJ) was named all-conference in four events and junior Matt Pyne (Wallingford) captured the pole vault at the 2008 Little East Conference/New England Alliance Men’s Outdoor Track and Field Championships Saturday, hosted by Rhode Island College.
Having lost 130 of 173 ½ points in the form of graduation and injury from last spring’s Little East Conference championship team, Eastern was unseated as the six-time defending champion. The Warriors placed third among six teams in the Little East Conference scoring and seventh among 12 teams in the New England Alliance computations.
The six Little East Conference teams are joined by six members of the Massachusetts State College Athletic Conference (MASCAC) to constitute the New England Alliance. The top three finishers in LEC scoring are named All-LEC and the top eight in Alliance scoring are awarded All-Alliance accolades. The first three relays in each competition are also awarded all-star status.
The University of Southern Maine won its second LEC team title – the first coming in 2001 before the Warriors began their championship run. Westfield State College won its 11th straight New England Alliance crown. In the LEC, Southern Maine had 194 points, followed by Keene State (125) and Eastern (105). Westfield (145 points) edged Southern Maine (135) for the NEA title. Seven points separated the 5-through-8 finishers in the final NEA standings. Eastern had 54 points, two behind UMass Dartmouth and two more than Rhode Island College.
The only returning performer with double-digit points (14) from last year’s LEC competition, Joseph won the LEC and NEA javelin titles and was second in the LEC at 200 meters (he won last year’s LEC title in that event) and third at 400 meters to finish with a team-best 24 points in individual events in LEC competition. He was timed at 23.19 at 200 meters and at 51.01 at 400 meters.
For the second time in three years, Joseph also ran the opening leg of the winning 4x100 meter relay (44.08) . With a personal-best throw of 177-11, Joseph won the NEA javelin title for the first time. After winning the LEC title in the javelin in 2006, Joseph finished fifth in the LEC and tenth in the NEA a year ago.
Last year, Pyne finished third in the LEC scoring and fourth in the NEA in the pole vault despite clearing 13-feet-3 inches. Saturday he won both titles with a height of 12-11, giving Eastern vaulters the LEC crown the last three years and the NEA championship the last two.
The Warriors also got 23 points in LEC scoring from weight men Tyler Banville (Vernon) and Andrew Brunswick (Middletown), each scoring in the hammer, shot and discus. A junior, Banville was second in the hammer (150-5), fourth in the discus (117-5) and sixth in the shot (36-5 ½). and Brunswick, a senior, was fourth in the hammer (PR of 131-11) and shot (38-6) and fifth in the discus (113-5). Banville’s highest finish in the three weight events was seventh a year ago.
Joining Joseph on the winning relay were freshman Pat Cushing (East Lyme), senior Michael Kuslis (Watertown), and freshman Mike D’Elia (Windham).
Sophomores Gregory Dinas (Stamford) and Chris Gemske (West Hartford) were unable to compete due to injury. Dinas had contributed 18 points in last spring’s outdoor meet and Gemske 18 points in this past winter’s indoor competition.
Eastern competes at the New England Division III Championship this weekend at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy.
Saturday, April 12, 2008
15 QUALIFYING PERFORMANCES , 20 PRs PUNCTUATE FIRST HOME MEET
Competing in front of home crowd for first time, Warriors excel in meet with Colby-Sawyer
MANSFIELD, Conn. -- Performing in front of its home fans in the first home track and field meet in the program’s 34-year history, the 2008 Eastern Connecticut State University men’s track and field team established 15 post-season qualifying times and set 20 personalrecords and one program record Saturday in a non-scoring meet with Colby Sawyer College.
The meet was the first collegiate one at the eight-lane Mansfield Outdoor Complex Track Facility, which was dedicated back on Sept. 13, 2005. Although Eastern had staged a handful of meets on area facilities since the program’s inception in 1975, Saturday’s meet was the first at its own “on-campus” facility.
More than 40 track and field alumni were present, with a number of them competing on an exhibition basis in the non-scoring meet. John Keleher, who coached the first three seasons of the program from 1975 through 1977, fired the starters’ pistol to kick off an Alumni Mile which involved a dozen former Eastern track and field competitors.
During the meet, seven Eastern competitors established a total of 15 qualifying times, heights and distances for next month’s New England and ECAC championships. In addition, 14 athletes posted a total of 20 personal records, with sophomore Gregory Dinas (Stamford) breaking his own record and qualifying for the ECAC and New England Open championships in the 110 meter hurdles with a time of 15.51 – 13 hundreths of a second faster than his former mark set last Saturday at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy Invitational.
Dinas won all four of the events in which he competed: the hurdles, high jump (6-2), long jump (20-3 ¾) and triple jump (41-2 ¼). Others capturing at least one individual title were seniors Archie Joseph (Livingston, NJ), Mike Curley (Branford) and Mykal Kuslis (Watertown); juniors Tyler Banville (Rockville) and Matt Pyne (Wallingford); sophomores Sam Buczek (Milford), and Chris Gemske (West Hartford), and freshman Ken Landry (East Hampton). Joseph won the 200 (22.19) and javelin (176-2), Curley the 1,500 (4:27.26), Kuslis the 400 hurdles (58.10), Banville the hammer (157-6), Pyne the pole vault (13-7 ¼), Buczek the 5,000 (16:39.57), Gemske the 400 (50.49) and Landry the 800 (2:04.47).
Joseph qualified for the New England Division III Championship in all three events in which he participated (200, 400 and javelin) and additionally, met the ECAC standard in the 200 and javelin with personal-best efforts.
Others qualifying for post-season competition were Banville in the hammer, Gemske in the 400, freshman Nick Furlani (East Lyme) in the 100 (11.40), and Kuslis and sophomore David Tignonsini (Vernon) (58.18) in the 400 hurdles. All qualified for the New England Division III meet, with Banville and Gemske also meeting the ECAC qualifying standards. Tignonsini qualified in his first try in that event.
Athletes establishing more than one personal record on the day were Banville in the hammer and discus (112-9), senior Andrew Brunswick (Middletown) in the hammer (120-8) and javelin (122-8), Dinas in the hurdles and long jump, Furlani in the 100 and 200 (24.30), Joseph in the 200 and javelin, and freshman Josh Styles (Branford) in the 100 (11.62) and long jump (17-3 ½).
Eastern also won both relays, taking the 4x100 in a time of 43.3 and the 4x400 in a time of 3:38.34. Kuslis and freshman Mike D’Elia (Windham) contributed to both winnings relays, while Joseph and Gemske also teamed on the former relay and Tignonsini and freshman Tony Marcelli (Plainville) on the latter.
Eastern competes at the Springfield College Invitational Saturday at noon in its final tuneup before the April 26 conference championship meet.
Saturday, April 5, 2008
DINAS WINS HIGH JUMP AND HURDLES, BREAKS RECORD
At U.S. Coast Guard men’s track invitational, Warriors set eight personal bests
NEW LONDON, Conn. – Sophomore Gregory Dinas (Stamford) won two events – breaking his own record in the 110 meter hurdles in the process – and eight personal bests were set Saturday by the Warriors at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy Track & Field Invitational.
Dinas, who earned All-New England and All-ECAC honors in last year’s outdoor season in the high jump last year, won the high jump (6-5) and the 110 meter hurdles in a program-record time of 15.64. Dinas’ time in the 110 meter hurdles broke his own record of 15.89 which he set last May 7 at the New England Division III meet and qualified him for both the ECAC Division III and New England Open championships. It marked the sixth time in his two-year outdoor career that Dinas has won the high jump and was his second first-place finish in the hurdles.
Additional personal bests were turned in by Dinas in the long jump, freshman Josh Styles (Branford), junior Anthony Mendes (North Windham), junior Matt Pyne (Wallingford) in the pole vault, junior Tyler Banville (Rockville) in the discus, and freshman Mike D’Elia (Windham) at 400 meters. Styles set PRs at 100 (11.95) and 200 (23.99) meters, Dinas in the long jump (20-3), Mendes (4:50.04) at 1,500 meters, Banville in the discus (111-5), and D’Elia at 400 meters (52.02). Banville also missed qualifying for the New England Division III Championship in the hammer by four inches.
As a team, Eastern placed fourth in a field of 11 in the meet, won in a landslide by host Coast Guard. The Bears recorded 234.5 points to easily outdistance runner-up Trinity College (136). Eastern totalled 63 points.
Eastern hosts its first-ever track and field invitational Saturday at 11 a.m.
Warriors at Tufts Snowflake Classic (Saturday, March 29, 2008)
Saturday, March 22, 2008
CHRIS GEMSKE WINS TWO EVENTS IN M-TRACK OPENER
Warriors open outdoor season with third-place finish at U.S. Coast Guard Invite
NEW LONDON, Conn.– All-New England sophomore sprinter Chris Gemske (West Hartford) won the 100 and 200 meter dashes – qualifying for post-season competition in the process – as men’s track and field opened its 2008 outdoor season with a third-place finish at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy Invitational Saturday.
Already a three-time All-New England sprinter in indoor and outdoor competition, Gemske qualified for the New England and ECAC Division III and New England Open meets with a winning and personal record time of 22.15 at 200 meters and exceeded the New England and ECAC Division III qualifying standards with a winning time of 11.18 at 100 meters. His time at 200 meters was 41 hundreths of a second off the program record.
Host U.S. Coast Guard Academy compiled 364.5 points to run away with the team title. Connecticut College (65 points) was second, Eastern (59.5) third, Emmanuel College (37.5) fourth and U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (20.5) fifth.
Junior Matt Pyne (Wallingford), freshman Ken Landry (East Hampton) and the 4x100 meter relay team all recorded second-place finishes: Pyne (12-11 ¾) in the pole vault and Landry in a field of 23 at 800 meters (2:02.95). Clocking a time of 44.72 in the 4x100 meter relay were senior Archie Joseph (Livingston, NJ), Gemske, senior Mykal Kuslis (Watertown) and freshman Mike D’Elia (Windham). Pyne qualified for the New England Division III meet with his mark, while the relay team fell eight hundredths of a second shy of the ECAC qualifying standard.
Five individuals established personal bests in the meet. In addition to Gemske, sophomore Chris Lemos (Granby) established new career bests in the hammer and javelin, junior Tyler Banville (Rockville) in the discus, and juniors Sean McLaughlin (Branford) and Anthony Mendes (North Windham) and sophomore Sam Buczek (Milford) at 5,000 meters. Buczek was timed in 16:43.29, a marked improvement from his previous outdoor best of 17:37.37.
Eastern competes in the Tufts University Snowflake Classic Saturday at 10 a.m.
Complete resultsComplete results
