Two Regis Records Fall at Massasoit Classic
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Two school records were broken, another one was established, and several personal best marks were posted as the Regis College track and field team competed Saturday at the Massasoit Classic in the Springfield College Fieldhouse.
JJ Pedersen (Milford, Conn.) notched his third school record of the season, finishing second in the 1000 meter run with a time of 2:41.81, almost two seconds quicker than the previous record set last year. He also anchored the distance medley relay, joining with Nicholas Sahagian (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.), Michael Carroll (Lynn, Mass.), and Noah Ryan (Stockton, Calif.) to post a time of 11:30.85, finishing second in that event and establishing that time as the school record.
Individually, Sahagian posted a collegiate best time of 4:44.53 in the one mile run to finish in fifth place. In the 800 meter run, Carroll finished in 13th place with a time of 2:13.93, followed by Ryan in 16th place in 2:15.93 and Ben O'Neal (New Britain, Conn.) in 18th place with a collegiate best mark of 2:20.61.
Jacob O'Neal (New Britain, Conn.) won his heat of the 200 meter dash, finishing in 23rd place overall with a collegiate best time of 25.30 seconds, plus he finished eighth in the 400 meter dash in 56.87 seconds. He also joined with Spencer Gagnon (Marshfield, Mass.), Nicholas Pastore (Norwood, Mass.), and Ben O'Neal in the 4x400 meter relay, helping the Pride to a seventh place finish with a time of 3:48.62.
In the throws, Cole Anderson (Falmouth, Maine) led the team in the weight throw by finishing sixth with a top mark of 12.75 meters (41' 10"). Mark Dumas (Brooklyn, Conn.) finished eighth in both the weight throw with a personal best mark of 11.68 meters (38' 4") and in the shot put at 11.11 meters (36' 5.5"). Nathan Thacker (Halifax, Mass.) also posted a personal best mark in the weight throw at 9.78 meters (32' 1") to finish 14th, plus he ended up 12th in the shot put with a top throw of 9.18 meters (30' 1.5").
On the women's side, the distance medley relay record that was established over 20 years ago finally fell, as Maddie Boucias (Buckland, Mass.), Desiree Jones (Oceanside, Calif.), Lizzy Melvin (Southington, Conn.), and Ashleigh Kelley (Stoneham, Mass.) combined to post a time of 13:56.43, over 20 seconds faster than the previous standard. Kelley also finished in fourth place in the 1000 meter run with a time of 3:12.85, with Jones ending up in 17th place in 3:35.82.
In the 800 meter run, Boucias finished seventh in 2:41.07, followed by Erin Kelley (Stoneham, Mass.) in 13th place in 2:47.01 and Melvin in 14th place with a collegiate best time of 2:48.41. Kelley also posted a collegiate best time in the one mile run of 5:56.88, crossing the finish line in 13th place in that event.
Olivia Juneau (Wakefield, Mass.) qualified for the finals of the 60 meter hurdles with a preliminary time of 10.59 seconds, and then she finished seventh in the final in 10.61 seconds. Juneau also won her heat of the 400 meter dash, finishing 10th overall in 1:04.14, and she led off the 4x400 meter relay, joining with Erin Sheehan (Pembroke, Mass.), Hannah Morine (Tyngsboro, Mass.), and Emily Fagundo (Dover, N.H.) to finish in third place with an overall time of 4:36.82.
Elisabeth Cooke (East Longmeadow, Mass.) finished in ninth place in both the weight throw at 11.59 meters (38' 0.25") and the shot put at 10.05 meters (32' 11.75"). Allie Sanidas (Ipswich, Mass.) continued to show improvement as a first-year competitor with two personal best marks, finishing in 14th place in the shot put at 9.43 meters (30' 11.25") and in 21st place in the weight throw with a top mark of 8.28 meters (27' 2").
The Regis College track and field team begins February by competing at the Branwen Smith-King Invitational, hosted by Tufts University in Medford, Mass., next Saturday, Feb. 1.