May 7, 2009
AMHERST, Mass. -
New England Championship Information
The UMass men's and women's track and field teams return home to Amherst, Mass. this Friday and Saturday for the New England Championship. Friday will start with the decathlon at 10:00 a.m. on the track with the 100 meter. Saturday at 10:00 a.m., the heptathlong kicks off the day with the long jump, while the decathlon 110 meter hurdles will be on the track. Last year, both the men's and women's team ranked seventh overall. Rhode Island won on the men's side, while Boston College took the gold for the women.
Last Year At The New England's
Last season, the top performance for the women came from Shiyi Zan, who ranked seventh in the 5,000 meter. With a time of 17:08.64, Zan moved to fifth on the all-time UMass list of fastest 5K runners. She also qualified for ECAC competition.
On the men's side, Nicolai Naranjo took first in the 5K with a time of 14:22.57. Jonathan Pierce finished sixth in that event with a time of 14:36.84. Both athletes qualified for IC4A competition.
Both teams ranked seventh overall.
Last Week At The Atlantic 10 Championship
The top performer for Massachusetts came from Lisa Wilson, who earned a gold and silver on the day. Wilson notched her first career win at the Atlantic 10 Championships with a discus toss of 155-00 feet. The Holden, Mass. native earned a second-place finish in the shot put with a throw of 44-09.75. Wilson also notched a sixth-place finish in the hammer throw with a distance of 170-11 feet, her best of the season. Wilson earned UMass/Dinn Bros. Athlete of the Week for her performance.
The men finished tenth at A-10's. The top performance came from Chris Dzidek, who finished seventh in the decathlon with a score of 5426. Schwartz finished third in the 400 meter run (51.02) and the 1500 meter run (4:33.83).
Rookie Zach Koncki qualified for day two in the 110 meter hurdles, ranking eighth in the finals with a time of 15.17.
Winning Awards
After the Atlantic 10 Championships, Lisa Wilson earned tri-UMass Athlete of the Week. Wilson earned her first career win at the Atlantic 10 Championships with a discus toss of 155-00 feet. The Holden, Mass. native grabbed a silver medal in the shot put with a throw of 44-09.75. Wilson also notched a sixth-place finish in the hammer throw with a distance of 170-11 feet, her best of the season.
For her effort at the Larry Ellis Invitational, junior Lisa Wilson earned Atlantic 10 Co-Performer of the Week after she replaced her school record in the discus with a NCAA Regional qualifying throw of 156-02. At that meet, Wilson also finished third in the hammer (166-4) and fourth in the shot put (44-11), qualifying for the ECAC Championships in all three events.
Outdoor Rankings
The Minutemen finished tenth at the Atlantic 10 Championship. UMass had been selected to rank third at the 2009 Atlantic 10 Outdoor Track & Field Championship. Last season, UMass finished fourth overall.
The Minutewomen finished sixth at the Atlantic 10 Championship. The women's team had been tabbed to finish seventh overall. Last season, the Minutewomen ranked sixth of 12 teams.
Minutewomen Rock Record Book
Junior Lisa Wilson (Holden, Mass.) replaced her own top mark in UMass history in the discus with a toss of 156-02, qualifying for the NCAA Regional Championship as well as the ECAC Championship.
Wilson also threw the shot put 44-11.50 at the Larry Ellis Invitational for a new school record. She finished second at the meet.
Sophomore triple jumper Stephanie Aguguo (Shrewsbury, Mass.) earned UMass/Dinn Bros. Athlete of the Week honors after triple jumping into the UMass record books at the UConn Invitational with a distance of 38-07.00. She scored ten points for the Minutewomen, ranking first overall, and beating the second place finisher by over a foot.
Aguguo marked a distance of 38-06.00 at the indoor Atlantic 10 Championship to secure her place in UMass indoor 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 during the indoor season. She finished third overall at the meet.
Minutemen Catch Records
At the Larry Ellis Invitational, Sean Busch (Stow, Mass.) vaulted a height of 15-05.00 for the third best mark in UMass history. Busch ranked fifth overall at the meet.
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 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.
Shiyi Wins Awards
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.
