University of Massachusets Athletics
University of Massachusetts
Yellow Jacket Invitational
Throwers Lead Men's Track To First Place Finish
April 03, 2011 | Men's Track & Field
April 3, 2011
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - The men's track and field team had a change of plans this weekend, which took the squad to the Yellow Jacket Invitational at American International College in Springfield, Mass. on Saturday. The change had no effect on the Minutemen as Ken O'Brien's team captured first place in a field of seven teams, tallying 175 points.
Leading the way for UMass on Saturday was the throwing portion of the team in the forms of Kevin Spieler and David McKenna. The former of the two placed second in the shot put with a mark of 46-11, third in the discus with a mark of 143-01, and second in the hammer throw with a mark of 170-02. Spieler set the fifth best distance in school history in the hammer throw at AIC. McKenna was not far behind his teammate, as he placed fourth in the discus with a mark of 131-09, and fifth in the hammer throw with a mark of 147-11.
The Minutemen were also able to add two IC4A Championship qualifiers with Tyler Cotto in the 110 meter hurdles and freshman Quinn Ryder in the 100 meter dash. The senior, Cotto, crossed the line at 14.78, placing first in the hurdle event. Ryder placed second in the dash with a time of 10.82.
Two Minutemen who placed first in their respective events were Joe Doyle and Patrick McAllister in the 800 meter and 5000 meter runs. The former ran a time of 1:56.70, while the latter of the two crossed the line at 15:15.43. Tom Mullen also participated in the 800 meter run, finishing right behind Doyle in second place with a time of 1:57.27.
The junior and senior duo of Daniel Wu and Sean Busch in the field events also proved successful for UMass. Wu placed third in the long jump, reaching a distance of 21-4. Busch, the Stow, Mass. native, jumped to a height of 14-5.25 in the pole vault, good enough for second place.
In the 4x100 relay Chris Greene, Ted Grenne, Conor Megee, and Ryder all combined for a second place finish with a team time of 43.25. Chris Greene also participated in the 400 meter dash along with Paul Grafov. Grafov led the way, taking third place in 50.23, as Greene followed in fourth in 50.39.
Rounding out the solid day of performances for the men's track and field squad were Aaron Araujo and Evan Donadt in the 400 meter hurdles. Crossing the line at 55.02, Araujo placed second, while Donadt placed fourth with a time of 56.88.
The Minutemen return to action as the squad open's a two meet homestand next weekend at the UMass Invitational, slated to begin at 11:30 am. Tape delayed coverage of the meet will be broadcast later next week sometime (TBA) on CBS 3 Now, so stay tuned for further details.
