Men's Track Hosts Minuteman Invitational

April 12, 2013

AMHERST, Mass. -

Massachusetts hosting the Minuteman Invitational
Date/Time	Saturday, April 13, 2013 \| 10:00 a.m.
Location	UMass Track & Field Complex \| Amherst, Mass.
Meet Info	Meet Schedule \| Live Chat
Results	Indoor Results \| Outdoor Results
Personal Records	Indoor Personal Records \| Outdoor Personal Records
All-Time Records	Massachusetts All-Time Record Book
Social Media	@UMass_XC_TF   \| @UMassAthletics   \| UMass Cross Country/Track and Field

Minutemen Host Their First Meet Of The Outdoor Season

The Minutemen will compete against 13 teams on Saturday with the opening event set to start at 10:00 A.M. Men's programs coming to the UMass Track & Field Complex are AIC, Amherst, Hartford, Holy Cross, Keene State, UMass Dartmouth, Stonehill, Westfield, Williams, Northeastern, Worcester State, Wesleyan and Central Connecticut State Universty.

Live results will not be available however fans unable to attend the meet can track the meet on Twitter and the Minuteman Invitational Live Chat that will be updated with results throughout the duration of the meet.

Men's Track Off To A Strong Start In Outdoor Competition

The men's track and field squad came out swinging on the track at the AIC Invitational. The Minutemen's depth and talent carried the team throughout the meet and to a first place finish with 101 points out of 17 total teams. The runner up was Central Connecticut with 86 points. Coach O'Brien's athletes fought their way to 26 top eight performances. Stephen Bigelow claimed the Minutemen's sole individual first place performance of the day in the 110 meter hurdles, completing the event in just 15.17-seconds.

A Look Back At The 2013 Indoor Campaign

The 2013 indoor season was a battle from the start. The team persevered through injury and consistently turned in strong performances throughout the season. Two of the season's top performances came during the New England Championships. On the track Thomas Mullen moved to fourth all-time at UMass, completing the 1,000 meter run in 2-minutes, 26.41-seconds. In the field, it was the standout freshman Michael Cyphers who set the second best mark in program history with his second place height of 15-feet, 11-inches, inching his way closer to Sean Busch's program record at UMass of 16-feet, 0.75-inches.

Perhaps the brightest moment of the season came at the A-10 Championships when UMass witnessed the emergence of Nick Ingham who displayed his athleticism in the heptathlon finishing third with a UMass program best score of 4,666 points over the course of seven events, which most of the events the freshman had never competed in at the collegiate level or in his high school career.

2012 In Review

In 2012 the men's squad graduated nine seniors, two of which stole the spotlight throughout the season. UMass fans swarmed to the UMass Track and Field Complex and all over New England in order to see their friends, family and two seniors competing for the all-time UMass long jump crown.

UMass graduates Zachary Koncki and Daniel Wu graduated last season after a season long battle for the best outdoor long jump mark in UMass history. At the season's end Koncki finished on top by a half-inch margin with a distance of 24-0.75, Wu finished the season second best all-time with a mark of 24-0.25. Koncki also leaves UMass as the indoor champion as well with a mark of 24-0.25.

The long jump record wasn't the only dent the 2012 team made in the UMass record book. Evan Donadt graduated with the fifth best time in the 400 meter hurdles finishing with a personal best of 53.18. Donadt also assisted in the fifth best 4x400 meter relay time in indoor competition at UMass. The record came during the IC4A Championships when Donadt, Aaron Araujo, Zachary Hildenbrandt, and Paul Grafov crossed the finish line at 3:15.67. It was also at the IC4A Championships when Grafov set the fourth best time in UMass history of 1:04.06 in the 500 meter run.

One Last Lap

The men's track and field team will graduate just five seniors in 2013. The team will be led by Paul Grafov, Andrew Grube, Conor Megee, Bobby Callahan and a healthy Nick Otis, who missed all of 2012 due to injury.

Grafov leads the five in accolades with his two UMass records he set or assisted in last season. Grafov has been a key part in the team's success on the track, setting the fourth best time at UMass in the 500 meter run (1:04.06) and assisting in the fifth best 4x400 meter relay time of 3:15.67.

Otis will bring depth to the team's sprint, mid-distance and relay events in 2013. A New England qualifier in an array of events and an eighth place finish in the 400 meter hurdles at the A-10 Championships. His personal best time of 56.88 as a sophomore in the event is less than three seconds away from topping Grafov's fifth-best all-time mark.

Grube competed in the 100 meter dash, long jump and high jump last season and was the team's best in the high jump. The senior set a career best 6-6.25 in the high jump at the indoor A-10 Championships.

Strong Core Of Returners

The 2012 men's track and field squad was built for the future with a total of 32 underclassmen. However with the 32 underclassmen now with another year of experience and a strong freshman class entering the 2013 season, the future may be already here. The team is returning their best athletes in a majority of their events.

In sprints junior, Quinn Ryder and sophomore, Patrick Farnham will lead the way. Ryder led the squad in the 200 meter dash and second in the 100 meter dash Farnham landed opposite of Ryder and held the season best time in the 100 meter dash, and was second in the 200 meter dash. The two will also factor in relays as well.

In distance events the team has a group of juniors just coming off of successful seasons in cross country this fall. Jared Reddy led the team in the 1,500 meter run last season with a season best time of 3:56.81. Antony Taylor is the team's top returner in the 3,000 meter steeple chase and the 5,000 meter run. Taylor is also coming off of an All-Conference season in cross country, finishing 11th overall at the 2012 A-10 Championships. Patrick McGowan set the pace in the 10,000 meter run during 2012 with his best time of 30:38.36 coming in the A-10 Championships. McGowan battled Taylor all season long in cross country for the top spot and was a big part of the team's success this past season.

Another sophomore to keep an eye on this spring is Gregory Copeland, the team's best in the pole vault, setting a season best 14-9 at the UMass Invite as a freshman. Copeland is one coaches are particularly excited about heading into the 2013 campaign and will look to build on a successful freshman season.

Peter Farlow had success his freshman season in the 400 meter hurdles. The sophomore was a New England qualifier in the event and posted his best time of the season at the A-10 Championships when he finished the hurdles at 54.46.

Raymond Acciavatti is the team's best returning thrower this spring. In his freshman campaign Acciavatti finished fifth in the javelin at the A-10 Championships with a season best 178-10, also qualifying for the New England Championships.

Freshmen Fast Facts

This year the Coach O'Brien and Coach Jackson have brought in eight freshmen, many of whom gained experience this fall during the cross country season.

Benjamin Groleau, Michael McNaughton, Daniel Sheldon and Quentin Stipp all ran cross country this fall. Groleau makes a case for the most success in his freshman season with three top four performances on the team with one first place finish. He was the only freshman to finish first in a meet in 2012. Stipp finished the season with two top three performances while Sheldon finished the season with four top five finishes on the team.

One freshman that didn't compete this fall was brother of Andrew Grube, Zack Grube. The freshman will compete in jumps and hurdles this spring and currently holds six records at his high school. Grube holds records in the 4x50 shuttle hurdles, indoor high jump, 55 meter hurdles, 4x400 meter relay, 110 meter hurdles, and the 400 meter hurdle.

Scoreboard

University of Massachusets Athletics

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