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Ranck Wins Two Events as Owls Place 4th at Jerry Gravel Classic

Enrique Delgado hovers above the water jump en route to winning the 3000 steeplechase at the 2022 Jerry Gravel Invitational meet. (Steve Moussette Photo)
Enrique Delgado hovers above the water jump en route to winning the 3000 steeplechase at the 2022 Jerry Gravel Invitational meet. (Steve Moussette Photo)
Posted: Apr 16, 2022

WESTFIELD, Mass.  – Westfield State sophomore Colby Ranck (Chicopee, Mass. /Hampden Charter) won both the long jump and the triple jump to lead the Owls at their 2022 Jerry Gravel Classic track and field meet on Saturday afternoon.

Ranck won the long jump with a mark of 6.57 meters, then added a triple jump win with a hop-skip-jump of 12.80 meters.

Westfield State senior Enrique Delgado (Worcester, Mass./North)  topped the men's steeplechase as the lone competitor in the event, completing the barriers in 11:43.90.

John Nekitopoulos (West Springfield, Mass.) won the 800 meters with a time of 2:03.17, with teammate Nick Hanley placing fourth.

Mike Maher (Attleboro, Mass.) and Brendon Hager (Agawam/Whitman Hanson) placed 1-2 in the 5,000 meters with Maher crossing the line in 16:13.23.

Other strong finishes for the Owls came from William Buckley (Plymouth, Mass./North), who was second in the 10,000 meters in 36:07; Brenden Laforest (Westfield, Mass.) placed third in the 400 in 51.23, while Lucas Roberts (Charlton, Mass.) was fourth in 53.15.

Daniel Botte (Norfolk, Mass./King Philip) took fourth in the 1500, lowering his seed time by nearly three seconds in 4:28.67, and Shane Clark (Bellows Falls, Vt.) finished third in the javelin with a top mark of 52.95 meters while throwing into a nasty left-to right cross-headwind.

The meet was contested with less-than-ideal weather conditions that included intermittent showers, and gusty winds that spelled doom for several team tents.  The wind predominantly came from the south, which made for a homestretch tailwind, but a severe headwind on the back straightaway.

Utica College took the team title with 152 points, followed by Bridgewater (139) , UMass Dartmouth (115), Westfield (108), Keene (22) and Holyoke Community College (6).

Westfield State recognized its five graduating seniors – Delgado, Maher, Roberts, Owen Ortiz (Turners Falls, Mass.), and Alec Krohto (Merrimac, Mass/Pentucket).

The Owls will compete at the Trinity College Invitational in Hartford next Saturday, with the MASCAC Championship meet on the docket in two weeks.