WENHAM, Mass. – A dominating performance by the Roger Williams University Men's Track & Field team pushed the Hawks to its second straight Commonwealth Coast Conference title Saturday, outscoring the runner-up by more than 140 points.
The men began the day strong with Evan Jones (Lexington, Mass.) and Austin Bobrow (Rocky Hill, Conn.) finishing 1st and 2nd in the Triple Jump. Jones had his biggest jump of the season with a distance of 13.26 meters, breaking a 12 year-old school record. Despite a shortened runway, teammate Bobrow was still able to produce a jump of 12.80 meters and finish second. Both jumps qualified for the New England Division III Championship.
In the Long Jump, the duo pulled off another one-two finish as Jones won the event with his best jump of the year at 6.18 meters while Bobrow finished in second with a jump of 6.05 meters.
Co-Captain Jamie Goodwick (Newtown, Conn.) competed in a variety events in the championship, leading the way for the Hawks with 36.5 points for RWU. Goodwick repeated as the conference champion in the Pole Vault, clearing 12'0” and earning ten points in that event. He also placed 2nd in the 100 Meter Dash, 3rd in the 200 Meter Dash, 4th in the 110 Meter Hurdles, 3rd in the Long Jump and ran the lead-off leg of the conference champion and school-record breaking 4x400-Meter Relay.
“Like last year, we depended on Jamie to be the workhorse of the team,” said Assistant Coach Tom Conley. “This win was a true team effort but it's nice to know we have someone who can score in so many events. We just let him loose and watch him go to work.”
Freshman Emil Pornelos (Hartford, Vt.) had an impressive debut at the TCCC Championships, as the thrower took top honors in the Discus, winning the event by fifteen feet. His 138' 2” toss broke the school record, which he set last week at Connecticut College. Pornelos also took 2nd place in the Hammer with a season-best mark of 129' 9” and placed 3rd in the Shot Put.
In the Pole Vault, event favorite Jack Traub (New Hartford, Conn.) entered the event with an injured hand and a smaller pole after snapping his original pole during warm ups. Despite the setbacks, Traub was still able to finish 3rd with a clearance of 11 ft. Teammate Zach Gillespie finished in 4th after clearing 11 ft. as well.
In addition to his fourth place finish, Gillespie had a strong day as qualified for the New England Championships after winning the 110 Meter Hurdles in a time of 16.40 and finished second in the High Jump, clearing 1.73 meters.
Thomas Maybury (East Longmeadow, Mass.) also earned a win at the 400 Meter Hurdles with a time of 1:00.18.
“When I came to RWU in January, I had one goal and that was to help bring home a conference title for both the men and women,” said Assistant Coach Ray Shadowens. “My athletes put their trust in me and my training program and for them to come out and have such a big day across the board shows a lot. I couldn't be more proud of them.”
Travis Cournoyer (Woonsocket, R.I.) and Dan Rathbun (Lakeville, Mass.) each racked up several points for the team. In the 400-Meter Hurdles, Cournoyer ran a season best 1:01.73, good for 3rd place, while Rathbun was right behind in 4th, also with a season-best time of 1:02.43. Cournoyer also scored 5th in both the 110-Meter Hurdles and Long Jump and ran a leg on the conference champion 4x100-Meter Relay. Rathbun took 5th in the 100-Meter, scoring a pair of points in that event.
Co-Captain Donovan Currier (Burlington, Vt.) ended his season on a high note, with season-best performances in both the Hammer Throw and the Shot Put, placing 3rd and 6th in those events with respective distances of 109' 6” and 35' 1/2”. He also placed 4th in the discus throw at 113' 1”.
Freshman Matt Furman (Lakeland, N.Y.) also enjoyed success in the throwing circles, achieving season-bests in both the Shot Put (4th, 36' 8 1/2”) and Discus (5th, 98' 4”), while taking 4th in the Hammer Throw.
Sprinters
Chris O'Keefe (Holden, Mass.), Greg Parzych (Coventry, Conn.), and Brian Ki (Windham, N.H.) all scored for the Hawks in the 400-Meter Dash, with O'Keefe earning the win at 54.11, Parzych taking 4th at 54.89, and Ki coming in 5th at 58.21. In the 200-Meter Dash, Parzych and O'Keefe went 4th and 5th, respectively, while Parzych also scored a point in the 100-Meter Dash, taking 6th place.
Roger Williams will compete at the New England Division III Championships on Friday, hosted by Tufts University.
