Two GNAC Titles Pace Pride Track & Field at League Championships
NEW LONDON, N.H. – The Regis College men's track and field team won two league titles, broke two school records, tied a school record, and posted several All-GNAC performances on its way to a third place finish at the 2022 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Outdoor Track and Field Championships, hosted Sunday by Colby-Sawyer College.
Michael Carroll (Lynn, Mass.) produced a strong finish kick to come from behind and win the 1500 meter run in 4:16.68, breaking the school record established by Jovan Sematimba at the 2018 GNAC Championships by 8/100ths of a second. Carroll nearly earned first place honors in another individual event, winning the second section of the 800 meter run in 2:06.27, just 1/100th of a second behind the time Terrance Harvey of Colby-Sawyer posted in the first section of the event.
Carroll did pick up a second gold medal as he anchored the victorious 4x800 meter relay, joining with AJ Corso (Broad Brook, Conn.), Benjamin Happenny (Woonsocket, R.I.), and Zach Sigman (Buffalo, N.Y.) to post an overall time of 8:56.37. Individually, Corso finished fourth in both the 3000 meter steeplechase in 11:19.62 and the 800 meter run in 2:09.78, and Happenny earned All-GNAC honors with a third place finish in the 1500 meter run with a time of 4:22.67.
Nicholas Pastore (Brockton, Mass.) broke his own school record in the long jump with a mark of 6.27 meters (20' 7") accomplished on his final attempt, finishing second in the event behind James Benson of Saint Joseph's College by just 0.02 meters. Pastore also finished third in the 100 meter dash with a time of 11.34 seconds in the final and sixth in the 200 meter dash in 23.79 seconds.
Brett Kiesel (Rocky Hill, Conn.) has the busiest day for the Pride, starting eight events and earning All-GNAC honors in six of them. He finished second in the 400 meter dash in 51.28 seconds, the shot put with a collegiate-best mark of 11.53 meters (37' 10"), and the discus throw at 31.69 meters (104'). Kiesel also placed third in the long jump with a collegiate-best mark of 6.11 meters (20' 0.5"), the pole vault by tying his school record with a clearance of 3.05 meters (10'), and the javelin throw with a mark of 44.96 meters (147' 6").
Chris Margiatto (Suffield, Conn.) finished fourth in the 400 meter hurdles with a time of 1:02.71 and fifth in the 400 meter dash with a time of 54.37 seconds. Aiden Charles (Lowell, Mass.) placed fifth in the 110 meter hurdles in 17.45 seconds, the discus throw with a collegiate-best mark of 28.79 meters (94' 5"), and the hammer throw with a top effort of 23.13 meters (75' 11").
Led by 42 points from Kiesel alone, the Pride finished in third place in the team standings with 113 points. Host Colby-Sawyer finished in first place with 213 points, just ahead of Saint Joseph's College's 206 points.
Kiesel will compete in the decathlon at the New England Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships Thursday and Friday, May 5-6, at Williams College in Williamstown, Mass.