Men's T&F Places Sixth at NEC's

Saturday, May 4

New Britian, Conn.

TBA

Sacred Heart

Northeast Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships

Photo by: Steve McLaughlin

5/5/2024 8:44:00 PM | Men's Track and Field

Pios grab two event wins among 21 top-10 finishes

By: Cameron McClarren

NEW BRITAIN, Conn. — Daniel Blatman's event win in the men's hammer throw highlighted a successful weekend for the Sacred Heart University men's track and field program as it wrapped up competition at the Northeast Conference (NEC) Outdoor Track and Field Championships on Sunday afternoon. The Pioneers grabbed 21 top-10 finishes during the conference championships in total, including Blatman's throwing triumph.

Blatman, who finished second in the weight throw at NEC Indoor Championships, claimed his gold medal in the hammer throw with a personal-best mark of 54.21m on his second throw and finished a full meter better than his closest competitor to earn SHU's lone win in throws. First year thrower, Joshua Wood, earned a top-10 finish with a sixth-place outing in the event after throwing 51.43 meters. Elsewhere in the field, Douglas Suter nabbed a point for the Pioneers in the javelin with a mark of 51.26m while Liam Tharin and Aidan Glennon grabbed top-10 finishes win the discus and shot put, respectively.

The Pios grabbed strong performances in jumps as Suter and senior Benjamin Healy tied for ninth place in the pole vault having cleared 3.75m. In the long jump, junior Blake Stewart nabbed fifth place with a mark of 6.76m while Healy claimed seventh to round out the top-10 outings in the field.

SHU claimed multiple high marks on the track including claiming gold in the 4x400m relay to close the two-day meet as the quartet of Rafael Mahario, Colin Brown, Connor Meikle and Lance Hayes grabbed the top spot with a finish of 3:14.28. The Pios also grabbed fifth place in both the 4x100m and 4x800m relays to earn points.

Continuing on the track, Alexander Rotondi improved from his eighth-place outing in the prelims of the 400m hurdles, finishing in eighth in finals while Damon Wilson and Healy claimed ninth and tenth in the 110m hurdles in Saturday's prelims. In distance, SHU claimed points in the 1500m as Edward Tristine grabbed sixth place in the event after finishing with a time of 3:55.89.

The Red & White had success in sprints and mid-distance races as Mahario continued his dominance with a bronze medal in the 400m after earning the top seed during prelims the day before. Hayes narrowly missed grabbing his second medal of the championships after grabbing fourth in the 800m run to close out SHU's sixth-place team finish.

Up Next:
The Pioneers return to action at the New England Outdoor T&F Championships hosted by the College of the Holy Cross on May 10-11. More information can be found at sacredheartpioneers.com.