Ten Different Owls Earn Top Three Placements in Men’s Outdoor Opener

WESTFIELD, Mass. – Westfield State sophomore Daniel Shea (Longmeadow, Mass.) claimed second in the long jump as the Owls men's track and field team opened the 2025 outdoor regular season schedule at the Wesleyan Swanson Invitational from Middletown, Conn. on Saturday afternoon.

The Owls turned in ten different top three finishes across seven different events this afternoon highlighted by Shea who's third attempt at the long jump proved to hold second place at a distance of 6.59 meters.

Sophomore Ali Warsame (Chelsea, Mass.) and junior Johnny Ware (Wilmington, Mass.) were other Owls to finish top three in field events, with Warsame earning third in the triple jump at a mark of 12.62 meters. Ware was third in the javelin with his final throw launched to a distance of 59.72 meters.

Westfield had a multitude of strong performances in track events with Will Buckley (Plymouth, Mass.) leading a trio of Owls in the 10000, finishing in 34:27.16 for the top spot in the event. Jarrod Ledvina (Fairhaven, Mass.) finished second (35:36.68) while Sean Jacobson (West Springfield, Mass.) earned third (38:57.49).

First-year athlete Theo Yetman (Franklin, Mass.) stood out in the 400 as he posted a second place finish out of six different sections and 34 runners, crossing the tape in 49.90 which was just three tenths of a second behind Garrett Cortez of RPI who won the event. 

In the 800, a pair of Owls secured top three placement with Rowan Gottshall (Simsbury, Conn.) taking second in a time of 2:02.96 with Lorcan Bergeron (Medway, Mass.) right behind his Owls teammate in third at 2:04.43.

Nathan Sylven (Wrentham, Mass.) rounds out the long list of terrific performances in track events as he collected a third-place time in the 5000 (15:25.24).

Other notable results came from the field events as Dylan Clark (Bellows Falls, Vt.) placed sixth in the shot put (13.34m) and eighth in the hammer throw (42.96m). First-year Devan Cerone (Southwick, Mass.) placed sixth in the high jump with a mark of 1.70 meters.

In the team events, the Owls ripped through the 4x100 relay as JJ Tauscher (Easthampton, Mass.), Yetman, Jace Falcone (Wilbraham, Mass.), and Jordan Stallworth (Chicopee, Mass.) edged out Regis for the top spot with a winning time of 44.17 seconds.

Westfield State men's track and field will be back in action on Saturday, March 29 as the Owls will travel to UMass Dartmouth for the Corsair Classic.