University of Massachusets Athletics
UMass Track & Field To Start Season At UConn
April 01, 2009 | Men's Track & Field
April 1, 2009
Storrs, Conn. - The UMass men's and women's track and field teams will kick off the outdoor season at the UConn Invitational, in Storrs, Conn. The women's field events kick off at 10:00 a.m. with running competition to start immediately after at 11:00 a.m. Men's events will begin at 1:00 p.m. Last season, the Minutemen ranked fourth while the Mintuewomen placed sixth overall.
UMass At UConn
• Last season the Minutemen ranked fourth overall, up a spot from their fifth place finish in 2007.
• Three men finished first in Storrs, each qualifying for the New England Championships. Graduated Minutemen Nathan Barksdale (Valparaiso, Indiana) ranked first in the 400 meter dash with a time of 49.76 seconds. Nils Fischer (Stow, Mass.) earned the goal in the 5000 meter with a time of 15:02.57. The 4X100 meter relay squad (Barksdale, Brian Miller, Ian Hackney, and Andrew O'Donnell) crossed the finish line first in 43.24.
• The Minutewomen ranked sixth last season for the second year in a row.
• Lisa Wilson (Holden Mass.) ranked third in the discus throw last season with a distance of 145-01.00, which gave her the third best mark in UMass history. She qualified for both the New England Championship and ECAC Championship. Wilson also threw the shot put 42-08.00 for a sixth place finish and a spot at New England's.
Minutewomen Solid During Indoor Season
• Redshirt senior Kristen Bakanowski (Northboro, Mass.) ranked third at the ECAC Championship's with a season-best height of 12-09.50.
• Sophomore Stephanie Aguguo (Shrewsbury, Mass.) made her first appearance at the ECAC's ranking 21st with a distance of 37-03.75.
• Newcomer Ida Okkonen (Kuopio, Finland) finished 23rd with a mark of 17-04.00 in the long jump at ECAC's.
Men Run At IC4A Championship
• Seven Minutemen and three relay squads competed at the IC4A Championships during the indoor season.
• One of the top finishers, freshman Philip Weltman (Dedham, Mass.), ran the 400 meter event in 48.89 for a 16th place finish.
• The DMR, solid all season, ranked 19th at IC4A's with a time of 10:06.44. The squad consisted of Schwartz, DiOrio, McCann, and Gordon.
Minutemen Catch Records
• Weltman finished sixth in the 400 meter run with a time of 48.45, qualifying for IC4A competition, at the Valentine Invitational. This time placed him second all-time in UMass history.
• Sophomore Scott VanderMolen ran a season-best 2:26.83 in the 1000 meter for the fifth best time in UMass indoor track history, ranking 11th at the IC4A's
Minutewomen Catch Records
• Sophomore triple jumper Stephanie Aguguo (Shrewsbury, Mass.) marked a distance of 38-06.00 at the Atlantic 10 Championship to secure her place in UMass history as the third-best all-time. She ranked fourth overall at the meet.
• At the same meet, sophomore transfer Ida Okkonen (Kuopio, Finland) triple jumped a distance of 36-10.25 to finish eighth overall and fifth all-time at UMass.
• Okkonen also ranks fourth all-time at UMass in the long jump with a mark of 18-09.25 at the Great Dane Invitational. She finished third overall at the meet.
Zan's Wall Full of Plaques
• Redshirt sophomore Shiyi Zan (Ottawa, Ontario) excelled at the Great Dane Classic, earning UMass/Dinn Bros. Athlete of the Week honors. Zan won the gold in the 5000 meter with a time of 17:50.86. She also set a meet record with that time. Zan finished a full 26 seconds before the second place finisher.
• Zan also UMass/Dinn Bros. AOW after the cross country home meet against Vermont, Maine, and Colgate after ranking first.
• After the indoor season, Zan was named to the Academic All-Conference team. In the fall, Zan earned Student-Athlete of the Year.
Atlantic 10 Gives Minutemen Nod
• Senior Peter Fortunato (Tewksbury, Mass.) garnered A-10 Co-Performer of the Week after the Boston University Valentine Invitational. Fortunato ranked 16th of 179 runners in the mile with an IC4A-qualifying time of 4:11.48. This time was the best in the A-10 at the time and Fortunato's best all season.
• Weltman, after racing into the UMass record books, earned A-10 Rookie of the Week. The time was the second-fastest in the Atlantic 10 at the time in the 400 meter and qualified Weltman for the IC4A Championships.
A "10" At A-10 Championship
• The Minutemen won their second-ever Atlantic 10 title during the cross country season, edging Duquesne by one point. Five runners placed in the top 25. Coach Ken O'Brien was named the men's Coach of the Year.
• Junior Jonathan Pierce (Hanover, Mass.) led the pack for the first time all season, finishing ninth overall with a time of 24:22.80. He was named to the Atlantic 10 All-Conference team.
• Senior Nils Fischer ranked 11th with a time of 24:32.0, also named to the A-10 All-Conference team.