Complete ResultsWestfield, Mass. - March 26, 2011 - The Springfield College men’s track and field team kicked off their outdoor season with a fifth place finish Saturday afternoon at the Jerry Gravel Classic hosted by Westfield State College.
American International won the event with 123 points, with host Westfield State right behind them with 118. Coast Guard and Hartford finished third and fourth, and the Springfield men rounded out the top-five with 48 points in the 16-team event.
The Pride men’s top finisher was Ryan O’Connell in the 5000 meter run, as he finished second in the event with a time of 15:14.55.
Garrett Sharnick put Springfield on the board early with an eighth-place finish in the 100-meter dash after sprintin to a time of 11.69 seconds in the final heat. Junior Greg Coleman added to the Pride’s total, posting seventh-place in the 800 meter run in 2:03.20.
In the 110-meter hurdles, freshman Sam Weiss snagged seventh-place in his first career outdoor meet, clocking in at 17.44 seconds.
In the relay events, Springfield’s quartet of Jermaine Bell, David Seronick, Cameron Robidoux, and Sharnick earned seventh-place points in the 4x100 meter. The group crossed the finish line in 45.85 seconds.
Senior Emil Occhiboi finished second with a height of 6’1.25” in the high jump, and sophomore Kevin Ross took sixth with a jump of 5’11.25”.
In the shot put, two Springfield seniors placed in the top-five for the Pride. Michael Cataldo grabbed fourth with a throw of 41’7.75” and Jonathan Nardi took fifth with a throw of 41’6”.
In the discus throw, NCAA Indoor long lump national champion Kevin Coyle placed fifth with a toss of 127’3”. Coyle was followed closely by teammate Nick Hogan in seventh, as Hogan threw 119’2”. Hogan continued to boost the Pride point total in the hammer throw, placing fourth with a distance of 145’7”.
In the meet’s final event, freshman Parker Ashton-Youngs earned Springfield’s last two points in the javelin throw. Ashton-Youngs’ distance of 165’8” was good for seventh.
The Springfield men will head to Medford, Mass next Saturday for the Tufts Invitational.
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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