Men’s and Women’s Indoor Track & Field Both Third at MASCAC Championships

PLYMOUTH, N.H. - The Worcester State University men's and women's indoor track & field teams combined to take home seven individual and two relay conference championships as they competed in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference Championships Saturday at ALLwell North. Both teams finished in third place overall.

The Worcester State men dominated the field events on the day. Senior Marcus Vieira (Peabody, Mass.) was the first Lancer to ascend the podium on the day, winning the weight throw with a heave of 17.11 meters. Teammate Anthony Christo (Peabody, Mass.) finished in third in the event with a throw of 16.66 meters. The Lancers nabbed the top two spots in the shot put, with Eddy Acuna (Newton, Mass.) winning the MASCAC crown with a throw of 15.27 meters. Vieira was right behind him in second at 14.94 meters. Senior Ryan Connolly (Braintree, Mass.) won the title in the triple jump with a distance of 13.44 meters, and also finished tied for third in the long jump at 6.36 meters. Rounding out the men's MASCAC field champions was Scott Page (Winchendon, Mass.), who eclipsed 4.40 meters in the pole vault.

On the track, the 4x200 meter relay team of Abdulrazak Frederick (Shrewsbury, Mass.), Eddy Boamah (Worcester, Mass.), Andre Luciano (Milford, Mass.), and Michael Butten (Marblehead, Mass.) were crowned MASCAC champions with a run of 1:33.10. Frederick also finished in second in the 60 meter hurdles on the day, running a time of 8.84 seconds. John Ojukwu (Stow, Mass.) won the MASCAC title in the 60 meter dash at 7.09 seconds, and Patrick Carleton (Tewksbury, Mass.) won the mile run at 4:33.04.

For the women's team, Bernice Mensah (Worcester, Mass.) opened the day by winning the championship in the 60 meter dash at 7.92 seconds. The time was not only good enough to win the championship, but also set a new MASCAC record. Mensah would go on to a huge day, also finishing in second in the triple jump (10.59 meters), third in the 200 meter (27.48 seconds), and fourth in the long jump (5.05 meters). Consisting of Courtney Guay (Londonderry, N.H.), Kyra Siano (North Attleboro, Mass.), Elisabeth Olson (Wilmington, Mass.), and Olivia Morin (Westford, Mass.), the women's 4x800 meter relay team also topped the MASCAC podium, running a time of 10:27.23.

Worcester State claimed both second and third in four different track events on the day. Olson was second in the mile at 5:29.50, with rookie Ryann Molinari (Grafton, Mass.) in third at 5:37.94. Siano (2:33.82) and Guay (2:39.81) claimed second and third in the 800 meter, Molinari (3:21.05) and Morin (3:24.82) in the 1000 meter, and junior Abigail MacGregor (Salem, N.H., 27.44 seconds) and Mensah in the 200 meter. MacGregor's run of 8.04 in the 60 meter dash was good for a PR and a second place finish behind Mensah.

The women's 4x200 relay team, made up of Denise Hoxha (Worcester, Mass.), Emily Finnegan (Ashland, Mass.), Gail Provo (Woburn, Mass.), and Doreen Buabeng (Worcester, Mass.), finished in second place with a time of 1:57.14, as did Provo in the high jump at 1.50 meters.

A handful of Lancers, representing both the men's and women's teams, will compete next weekend at the Division III New England Championships.

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