Complete ResultsSpringfield, Mass. -- April 18, 2009 -- The Springfield College men's track & field team hosted the Springfield Invitational at Blake Track under overcast skies today. MIT wound up finishing first of 12 teams with 199.50 points, followed by Westfield State with 129 points, and host Springfield with 98.50 points.
The remainder of the team scores were as follows: College of St. Rose 83, New Haven 69.50, Wheaton 65, Keene State 55, Eastern Connecticut 25.50, Colby-Sawyer 18, Babson 8, Fairfield 5, and Manhattanville 1.
For the Pride, Emil Occhiboi won the high jump with a leap of 1.86m as he qualified for the Division III New England Championships. In the 200 meter dash, Steve Headley finished second in 21.30 as he automatically qualified to run the event at the upcoming NCAA Division III Championships. Senior Mike Griffin won the 800 meter race in a time of 1:55.23, also qualifying for the Division III New England's.
Springfield's 4x100 relay team of Matt Amendola, Tom Brognano, Nickel Hay and Headley finished first, but just missed qualifying for nationals as they ran a time of 41.96, missing the provisional qualifying time by 0.06 seconds. That was still the fastest time run by a Springfield 4x100 since 1983.
The Pride's 4x400 relay team also won as Brognano, Kevin Behlmer, Chris Quetant, and Hay crossed the finish line in 3:19.91. The time qualified the squad to run in the All-New England Championships.
Ken Klatka, just inducted into the Springfield College Athletic Hall of Fame in October, 2011, enters his 37th season as head coach of the men’s track and field program in 2012-2013. He ranks among the nation’s most successful coaches, with an overall record of 442 wins, 144 losses, and two ties for an impressive .753 winning percentage. Under his direction, Kevin Coyle '12 won the 2011 Division III Indoor Long Jump National Championship.
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