SPRINGFIELD, Mass., February 9-10, 2007 - Junior Dominic Uguccioni (Colrain, Mass.) finished seventh overall and second among NCAA Division III athletes in the weight throw (57', 10.25"), qualifying him for nationals this past weekend as the Springfield College men's and women's track teams competed against top competition at Boston University in BU's annual Valentine Invitational.
Senior Alex Kampersal (Natick, Mass.) finished seventh in the shot put and second among Division III athletes with a throw of 49', 8.5". Kelsey Bishop (Warwick, R.I.) was the only woman to place in the top tier of her event, finishing 11th overall in the weight throw and second among Division III athletes with a throw of 48', 6.75".
The SC men and women also sent some athletes to compete in the MIT Coed Invitational in Cambridge, Mass., where senior sprinter Julie Ferdella (Leicester, Mass.) came in first in the 55-meter dash with an impressive time of 7.69 seconds. In the same event, SC freshman Karissa Pastyrnak (Bristol, Conn.) finished fifth with a time of 7.94.
In the 600-meter run, the Pride had two top finishers; freshmen Emma Lang (Woodstock, N.Y.) and Catherine Croce (Wallkill, N.Y.), who finished first and fourth with times of 1:45.52 and 1:48.94, respectively.
In the field events, sophomore Lara Dalidowitz (Southington, Conn.) and junior Ashley Palmer (Holyoke, Mass) finished first and second in the high jump with distances of 5', 1.75" and 4', 9.75", respectively.
To wrap-up the field events for the women, freshman Kari Manning (South Glens Falls, N.Y.) finished third in the triple jump (33', 6.5"), while sophomore Kayla Robertson (Peace Dale, R.I.) finished fifth (32', 8.25"). Kelsey Bishop placed third in the weight throw with a distance of 47', 1.5".
In the men's field events, senior Jeff Cogan (Walworth, N.Y.) finished fourth in the 200-meter dash (24.38) and second in the high jump (6', 3.25"). Junior Nick Decelle (Mechanicville, N.Y) had two second place finishes; in the long jump and the triple jump with leaps of 21', 7.5" and 45', 5.25", respectively.
The men's and women's track and field teams will next compete this upcoming weekend (Feb. 16-17) in the NCAA Division III New England Championships, where the men will travel to Bates College (Lewiston, Me.) and the women travel to the University of Southern Maine (Gorham, Me.).
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.
Read more.