SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. – Senior Jordan Pinnix (Manchester, Conn.) shattered his own school record to place second in the 110-meter hurdles to lead the Wheaton College (Mass.) men's track & field team at the New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championship hosted by Mount Holyoke College at MHC Track & Turf in South Hadley, Mass.
The Lyons tallied 78 points, finishing in sixth place just behind Babson College's total of 79 and United States Coast Guard Academy's count of 87 points. Worcester Polytechnic Institute won its second NEWMAC title with 241 points.
Pinnix shattered his own school standard, set less than 24 hours before in yesterday's preliminaries, with a clip of 14.39 seconds. First year Gavin Landry (Westbrook, Maine) turned in a time of 15.04 to place eighth with the seventh-fastest mark in school history. Pinnix also scored for Wheaton with a sixth-place effort in the triple jump with a leap of 12.82 meters for the seventh-best mark in program history.
Sophomore Kevin Smith (Norfolk, Mass.) also picked up a silver medal for the Lyons, pilling up 4933 points in the decathlon after placing first in the 110-meter hurdles (16.00), third in the pole vault (2.95 meters), fourth in the javelin throw (30.64 meters) and fifth in the discus throw (18.45 meters) and 1500 meters (5:36.19). His point total is the second-most in school history on the event.
Junior Kai Hillier (Hinesburg, Vt.) finished third in the 1500 meters with a time of 3:58.78 and first year Dan McIntyre (Keene, N.H.) was 17th in the race with a personal-record time of 4:19.72.
First year Gael Vera (Westminster, Mass.) placed third in the high jump with a height of 1.95 meters for the fifth-best mark in school history. His time of 10.81 in the 100 meters ranks as the seventh-fastest in school annals and placed him seventh in the event, behind Wheaton senior Kelvin Peterson (Eliot, Maine), who posted a 100-meter time of 10.77 meters to finish sixth in the event. Senior Ryan Ventura (South Easton, Mass.) placed 15th in the event with a time of 22.89, while first year Travis C. James (Hamden, Conn.) was 17th with a time of 22.95.
Vera and Peterson were also part of the Lyons' 4X100-meter relay team that placed third with a time of 41.40. First year Aidan Greenleaf (Topsham, Maine) and senior John Dowgiert (Methuen, Mass.) were also part of the third-place relay. Wheaton's 4X400-meter relay squad of Ventura, junior Aris Giatrakos (Stoughton, Mass.), senior Zac Elmasri (Groton, Mass.) and Dowgiert turned in a time of 3:27.75 to finish fifth.
Junior Nick Lacroix (Bedford, N.H.) posted a time of 10:08.26 in the 3000 meters to finish seventh for the Lyons.. Dowgiert finished ninth in the 400 meters with a mark of 50.95 and Giatrakos was a step behind at 50.98 to place 10th.
Wheaton junior Griffen Copp (Littleton, Mass.) finished seventh in the discus throw with a toss of 38.48 meters, which also ranks as the fourth-best mark in school history. In addition, Copp was 14th in the shot put with a heave of 11.61 meters. Sophomore Logan Quinn (Portsmouth, R.I.) also turned in a personal-record effort in the discus with a throw of 33.11 meters to place 14th and was 17th in the shot put with a heave of 10.22 meters. First year Kieran Templeton (Glens Falls, N.Y.) finished 18th in both the discus and the shot put with marks of 27.49 meters and 9.59 meters.
Elmasri led the Lyons in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 59.24 to place 10th, while first year Joshua Wright (Gorham, Maine) was 12th at 59.75. Senior Noah White (Winchester, Mass.) finished 20th for Wheaton in the 5000 meters with a time of 16:45.79.
The Lyons return to the track on Friday, May 2 when they travel to New London, Conn. to compete at the New England Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championship.
