Westfield, Mass.- Westfield State track and field is set to host the annual Jerry Gravel Invitational meet on Saturday, April 16. The field events are scheduled to begin at 10:00 a.m, with the running events to start an hour later, at 11:00 a.m.
The Owls 2022 seniors will be recognized prior to the meet at 9:30 a.m., and there will be a special presentation at noon as Westfield State track and field alumni, and past NCAA Division III individual champions Cindy (Sturm) Menard '83 and Claudine (Rice) Poplawski '95, will be honored with induction to the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference Hall of Fame.
Westfield State welcomes teams and athletes from Bridgewater State, Keene State, Mount Holyoke College, the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth and Utica (NY) College. The meet is named after the late Owls' track and field coach, Jerry Gravel, himself a member of the Westfield State Athletic Hall of Fame.
On the men's side of the meet, several Owls will be looking to post personal best times after a big meet last week led to season best times across several events.
First-year sprinter Sebastian Metcalfe posted personal bests in the 100 (11.37), 200 (23.28), and 400 (58.22).
Senior distance runner Michael Maher recently set a team-best in the 1500 meters with a time of 4:21.19.
Maher also placed fourth in the 5000 meters back on April 2nd at the Corsair Classic T&F Invitational. He is currently the number two seed in the 5000 meters with a seed time of 16:14.01, trailing only Bridgewater State's Trevor Wysong (14:48.15).
Senior Shane Clark is currently ranked 29th in the nation in NCAA Division III in the javelin. He also set personal records at last week's meet in the discus throw and shotput with distances of 37.4m (122'8") and 13.17m (43'2.5"). The senior placed fifth with his discus mark and fourth in the shotput.
He also placed first in the javelin throw with a mark of 178'0", just two and a half feet shorter than his PR of 180'8" which he set back on April 2 at the Corsair Classic. Clark is currently seeded third in the javelin throw, fifth in shotput, and is the favorite to win the pole vault with a seed mark of 3.85m (12'7.5") for Saturday's meet.
The Owls' 4x100 team will be hunting another top three finish after Sebastian Metcalfe, Lucas Roberts, Brendan DeBarber, and Owen Ortiz posted a time of 44.01 last week, good enough to take third place at the Coast Guard Invitational. The four-man team is seeded second in the Gravel Invitational, just behind Utica College.
Seniors Roberts and Ortiz will be looking for strong performances in the sprint and jump events as well, and seniors Alec Krohto and Enrique Delgado will be involved in the middle-distance events.
The Owl women will also be looking to post some strong marks after they too had strong showings over their last two meets, with several PR and season best times across the board.
One of the standout performances came from first-year Vicky Marin who has set three personal record marks over the last two weeks in the 100m hurdles (15.87, 5th place finish), 400m hurdles (1:11.66, 2nd place finish), and long jump (5.31m, 2nd place finish).
Marin is currently slated to compete in the 100m hurdles as the fourth seed (15.49 mark), long jump tied as the favorite to win the event at 5.31m and high jump as the third seed marked at 1.61 for Saturday's Gravel Meet. The first year earned Division III U.S. Track & Field and Cross-Country Coaches Association All-Region honors after the indoor season.
Senior distance runner Kayla Whitcomb is the favorite to win the 5000m by over a minute as she holds a personal best time of 18:50.43 in the event, a mark that was good enough to win the event at the Corsair Classic back on April 2.
The women's 4x100 team of Mackenzie Burgoyne, to Paige Moroney, to Becca Welch, and anchored by Vicki Marin has the top time out of six teams with a mark of 49.45.
Owls' distance star Amy O'Sullivan will be competing against her own best time of 37:09.36 in the 10,000m on Saturday. O'Sullivan was the 2022 MASCAC champion in the 5,000m during the indoor season, so she is looking to translate that success to the outdoor meets as well.
Other Owls to watch include seniors Mia McDonald in the steeplechase, Carly Smith in the 100 hurdles and the jumps, and Sarah Tormey in the 400 and 800.
WestfieldStateOwls.com will have live video of the running events, high jump, and pole vault areas will be available from noon until the end of the meet. Live results are available at WestfieldStateOwls.com and on IC4Atrack.com.
- Written by Evan Levrault, sports information intern