BOSTON – Sophomore Joseph Morrone set a new program record in the 500m dash on Friday to help the Sacred Heart University men's track and field team secure a seventh-place showing at the two-day New England Championships, hosted at the TRACK at New Balance. 

The Pioneers took home seventh place by earning 35 points at the event, just 11 points shy of cracking the top six. The University of Rhode Island collected top honors with 199 points. 

Morrone set a new program best with a blazing time of 1:03.51 to win the 500m dash and secure SHU 10 points. Morrone's time was nine-tenths of a second quicker than the former program mark set by Brenden LaForest (1:04.41) at the 2020 Northeast Conference Championships. 

Morrone's accolades were not complete, as he helped the Pioneers' 4x400 relay team secure a third-place finish with a combined time of 3:18.50. Rafael Mahario, Dominic Miele, and Jonathan Mahon rounded out the relay squad that helped the Pios gain six points. SHU's relay time today is the best by the team this season.  

Benjamin Healy secured Sacred Heart another third-place finish as he built on his strong day one to collect third in the heptathlon. The senior tallied firsts in the long jump (6.53m) and the 1,000 meters (2:49.24) on his way to a personal-record 4,700 points. 

Owen Nassaney and Miele each earned sixth-place showings on the day. Nassaney (1.95m) finished sixth in the high jump, while Miele (1:06.57) joined Morrone in the top 10 of the 500m dash. Miele tallied a new PR time of 1:05.72 in the prelims.

Douglas Suter earned the Pioneers a point in the heptathlon by taking eighth place with a season-high 3,894. The first year's event was highlighted by a second-place showing in the 1,000 meters (2:53.29).

By finishing in the top eight of their respective events, Morrone, Mahario, Miele, Mahon, Healy, Nassaney, Suter, and Cameron Croce all earned All-New England honors. 

The Pios' final competitor with a 10th-place finish today was Nazir Hibbert, who placed ninth in the high jump with a mark of 1.90m. 

Sacred Heart men's track and field will have a day off before heading to the 23rd-Annual East Stroudsburg University DeSchriver Invitational on Sunday, Feb. 5. The event will take place at ESU's Koehler Fieldhouse and is slated to start at 9:30 a.m.