April 13, 2015

Massasoit Claims Nine Top-10 Finishes At Smith Pioneer Invitational

Freshmen Nick Vaughn and Alex MacMillan of the Massasoit CC track and field team each posted top-10 finishes in two events en route to qualifying for the NJCAA Nationals at the Smith Pioneer Invitational on Saturday.

NORTHAMPTON, Mass. ---- Freshmen Nick Vaughn and Alex MacMillan of the Massasoit CC track and field team each posted top-10 finishes in two events en route to qualifying for the NJCAA Nationals at the Smith Pioneer Invitational on Saturday.

"It was a lot of fun," head coach Matt Jordan said. "I'm really proud of how things are shaping up and how invested the team is in each other. We did a lot of experimenting today, having some people get out of their comfort zones in events. But overall is was a great meet and everyone really enjoyed it."

Vaughn, from Kingston, qualified for the NJCAA Nationals by besting his own school record in the 100-meter dash, clocking a time of 11.15. His time ranked second at the invitational, marking the best finish by a Massasoit track athlete in an event in program history. In addition, Vaughn also qualified for nationals in the 200m, placing sixth with a time of 23.51.

MacMillan, who had already qualified for Nationals a week prior in the javelin, topped his school record throw. The Brockton native recorded a distance of 44.78 meters (146-11) as the freshman finished fourth the event. He also placed fourth in the 200-meter race in 23.49, to qualify for Nationals in a second event.

Other top-10 performances included:

4x100 (MacMillan, Piragis, M.Vaughn, N.Vaughn) finished third in 47.16
Jacob Hume (Brockton) placed third in the triple-jump (10.95m/35-11.25)
Mitch Vaughn (Kingston) tied for third in the high jump (1.73m/5-8)
Alex MacMillan tied for third in the high jump (1.73m/5-8)
Rokas Piragis (Brockton) placing fifth in the 800m (2:10.90)

Also competing for the Warriors on the men's side was Adam Conte (Halifax) in the 1500m, 100m, 200m and javelin, Adam Blanchette (Brockton) in the javelin and 100m and Ruthersmith Bercy (Brockton) in the 100m, 200m and long jump.

On the women's side, Kerry O'Neil (Stoughton) and Rosie Debrito (Brockton) each just missed out on a top-10 performances. O'Neil placed 13^th in the 5,000m race, posting a time of 22:54.53, while Debrito also finished 13^th in the 400m race (1:14.17).

Debrito also competed in the 200m and long jump, while teammate Emely Abellard (Brockton) took part in the 100m and 200m races.