NORTON, Mass. -- The Wheaton College (Mass.) men's track & field team was edged by Colby College by a point at the Lyon-Mule Dual, while the Lyons also had five student-athletes qualify in six different events for the NCAA Division III New England Championships this afternoon at Beard Field House on the campus of Wheaton in Norton, Mass.
The Lyons finished a point short of the Mules at 77-76. They also competed against visiting Wentworth Institute of Technology, Worcester State University, Gordon College and Connecticut College.
Sophomore Jordan Pinnix (Manchester, Conn.) won the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.47, which qualified him for the New England Championship and also gave him the 42nd-fastest time in NCAA Division III in the event. Classmate John Dowgiert (Methuen, Mass.) also qualified for New Englands with a first-place time of 23.10 to win the 200 meters. Senior Matthew Cahill (Brewster, Mass.) placed first in the high jump with a New England qualifying height of 1.90 meters and also qualified for the 60-meter hurdles with a mark of 8.65 to finish second in the race. Pinnix finished fifth in the triple jump with a leap of 12.19 meters and was sixth in the long jump with a distance of 5.78 meters.
Sophomore Kelvin Peterson (Eliot, Maine) finished second in the 60 meters and qualified for New Englands with a mark of 7.14 in addition to placing second in the long jump with a leap of 6.39 meters. First year Kai Hillier (Hinesburg, Vt.) was the fifth qualifier for Wheaton after registering a converted time of 4:19.28 in the mile to place third in the event. Senior Kyle Monfredo (Worcester, Mass.) finished ahead of the field in the weight throw with a mark of 13.42 meters and added a seventh-place effort in the shot put with a heave of 10.80 meters.
Dowgiert combined with sophomore Zac Elmasri, senior Matt Daley (Branford, Conn.) and Peterson to post a converted time of 3:22.20 to finish as the runner-up in the 4X400 meter relay and rank as the 28th fastest time in all of NCAA Division III. First years GJ Mualis (Taunton, Mass.), Ricardo Goncalves (Revere, Mass.) and seniors Justin Hart (Queens, N.Y.) and Graeme Wojtowicz (Hyannis, Mass.) put together a winning time of 1:34.55 for the Lyons in the 4X200 meter relay.
Hart and Mualis also performed well in the 60 meters for Wheaton, placing fourth (7.33) and seventh (7.44), respectively. Sophomore Ryan Ventura (South Easton, Mass.) finished fifth in the 200 meters with a time of 24.55, while senior Anthony Almas (Marstons Mills, Mass.) finished sixth in the 400 meters with a time of 53.00.
Sophomore Noah White (Winchester, Mass.) finished fourth in the 3000 meters after posting a time of 9:02.19 for the Lyons, before junior Matthew Lambert (Hampton, N.H.) clocked in at 9:39.60 to finish seventh. Goncalves also competed in the 60-meter hurdles, crossing the finish at 7.19 to place fourth. Elmasri recorded a height of 1.70 meters in the high jump to finish fourth, while Ventura placed fifth in the long jump with a mark of 5.94 meters.
Sophomore Joe Moses (Cincinnati, Ohio) finished third in the shot put with a mark of 11.82 meters and followed that with a fourth-place showing in the weight throw after a toss of 12.28 meters for Wheaton. First year Griffen Copp (Littleton, Mass.) finished as the runner-up in the shot put with a heave of 12.09 meters and finished eighth in the weight throw with a distance of 9.65 meters.
The Lyons return to action on Saturday, January 28 when they host the Wheaton Invitational at Beard Field House at 3:30 p.m.
