WESTFIELD, Mass. – Westfield State track and field will host the annual Jerry Gravel Invitational track and field meet on Saturday, April 17.
The meet will be contested for the first time since the passing of the Owls' retired Hall-of-Fame head coach in October of 2019, as the 2020 meet was canceled due to the pandemic conditions.
This year's meet will have a different format, with the women's and men's meets held separately, with the women beginning at 9:00 a.m. and the men firing the starting gun at 1:00 p.m. in order to de-densify the number of participants.
Also different this year, the field will consist of only colleges that compete in track and field in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference. The meet will in essence serve as a preview of the conference championship meets, which are currently scheduled to be held at the Gravel Track at Westfield State on May 1 and 2.
The Owls track and field teams got back into action for the spring out door season, after practicing during the fall and winter.
Westfield's women have gotten strong performances so far from junior distance runner Amy O'Sullivan, who set a school record inthe 10,000 meters in the season opening meet on March 27. Mia McDonald topped the 3000 steeplechase at the Sheehan Invitational meet last weekend, and Mackenzie Connor was a winner in the pole vault last weekend as well.
The rest of the Owls' senior class includes sprinter/jumper Lina Lark, sprinter/hurdler Erin Giugno, jumper Sarah Remy and distance runner Becca Rokne.
On the men's side, the Owls are led by seniors Mitch Maslowski and Owen Ortiz. Ortiz and Maslowski were part of Westfield's wining 4x100 relay team in the season opening BSU Invitational.
First-year Colby Ranck has also gotten off to a good start in his collegiate career, with strong performances in the long jump and triple jump.
Senior middle distance runners Conner Grady, Cameron Bean, and Chris Tringali will also be featured for the Owls.
"Our biggest goal this week is for athletes to get qualified for their events in the conference meet, if they haven't already qualified, and hone our skills in the events for the championship," said Westfield State head coach Sean O'Brien.
"Home meets are a lot of work, but it's great to be in our facility, which is one of the best in New England. We have multiple throwing cases for the hammer and discus, and a separate runway for the javelin which makes the throwing events go as smoothly as possible, and many of the athletes, not just those from Westfield, love to run on our track."
The full meet schedule is available here. Video coverage of the meet is available at www.WestfieldStateOwls.com/boxcast and will primarily feature the running events. Live results and the performance lists are also posted at WestfieldStateOwls.com.
The Westfield State Foundation is working with a group of track and field alumni to establish a scholarship fund in Coach Gravel's memory, with the goal of securing an endowed scholarship fund to perpetually support two, annual, $4,000 scholarships. For more information on how you can support the Gravel Scholarship Fund, please contact Bill Hynes in the Westfield State advancement office, at 413-572-8647, or make your gift online at westfieldalumni.org/give .
