NEW LONDON, Conn., January 20, 2007 - Springfield College freshman Steve Headley (Wilbraham, Mass.) won the 55-meter dash and the 200-meter dash with times of 6.59 and 23.26, respectively, as the Pride finished second out of six competing teams at the Coast Guard Invitational this afternoon in New London, Conn. The meet was SC's first competition since the college's winter break.
The Pride finished with 157 total team points, falling to host Coast Guard by just four points (161). Eastern Connecticut State University (ECSU) finished third as a team with 112 points, followed by Rhode Island College (RIC) with 43 points, Connecticut College with 27 points, and King's Point with 23 total team points.
SC sophomore Mike Griffin (Scarborough, Me.) captured first place in the 1,000-meter race with a time of 2:36.01. The Pride also received a couple of second-place performances in the track events, with junior Jeff Bartlett (West Newbury, Mass.) taking home second in the one-mile run (4:29.27), and sophomore Eric Nacsin (East Longmeadow, Mass.) finishing second in the 800-meter race (2:03.44).
In the field events, junior Nick DeCelle (Mechanicville, N.Y.) won the long jump (20', 6.5") and finished second in the triple jump (42', 1.5"). Senior Alex Kampersal (Natick, Mass.) captured the shot put event with a toss of 50 feet, four inches.
Other stong performances came from senior Jeff Cogan (Walworth, N.Y.), with a second-place finish in the high jump (6', 4.75"), and junior John Lewis (Fitchburg, Mass.), with a second-place finish in the weight throw (51').
The Pride will next travel to Brunswick, Maine, to compete at Bowdoin College with MIT and Tufts University on Saturday afternoon, January 27th.
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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