Men's Track & Field: Superior Depth, 30 All-LEC Performances Fuel Warriors' Title

4/27/2024 7:52:00 PM

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* The Warriors won the title for the second time in four years (eighth time overall) and for the first time under second-year head coach David Nicholson '06. With Nicholson, a 400 meter All-America, the Warriors won the title every season during his four-year career under former head coach Frank Poulin. Eastern had finished third or higher each of the past three seasons. 2024 runner-up Southern Maine and third-place and host UMass Dartmouth had combined to win 13 of the last 15 titles, with Eastern winning in 2021 and Rhode Island College in 2013. Eastern has won the title at four different sites: UMass Dartmouth (four times), Rhode Island College (twice), Westfield State (once), and Fitchburg State (once).

* A total of seven Top 10 marks in the Mideast Region were recorded: Conor Hennessy (3rd) in the javelin (184-5), Aidan Hennessy (3rd) in the high jump (6-4 3/4), Adam Schimmelpfennig (6th) in the 400 hurdles, the 4x100 relay (7th) (42.17), Mike Collins (8th) in the long jump (22-1 3/4), Michael Hemmings (8th) in the high jump (6-3 1/2) and Kaito Yasuda (10th) in the 100 (10.85).

* Buoyed by outstanding depth, the Warriors recorded ten or more points (the top six places score points) in nearly half (10) of the 21 events to claim their 46-point win over Southern Maine. Twenty-eight percent (54) of their points came in three sprint events (100, 200, 400) and 31 percent (60) in five throwing and jumping events. By grabbing the 2-through-6 spots, Eastern amassed 21 points alone in the 200, with 17 points coming (1-3-6 finishes) in the 400 and 16 points (2-3-5) in the 100. Cory Bill won the 400, with Kaito Yasuda leading Eastern with second-place finishes in the 100 and 200.

* In addition to the sprints, Eastern totalled double-figure points in the triple jump (16) with 1-3 finishes, high jump (15) with 1-4-6 finishes, 110 hurdles (14) with 2-3 finishes, javelin (12) with 3-4-5 finishes, 1500 (10) with 3-4 finishes, and 4x100 relay (10) and 4x400 (10), which both placed first.

* Cory Bill became the seventh Eastern male to win the 400, winning for the second time in his career. In 2021, he captured the event in a time of 50.70. Current head coach David Nicholson is the only LEC male to win the event as many as three times when he won three straight between 2004 and 2006. His LEC record of 48.35 set in 2006 held up until 2016.

* The 4x100 won the event for the 11th time, most recently in 2019. The Warriors won the event in five of the first nine championships.

* The 4x400 had won the event five times previously but this year's relay won it for the first time since 2005, when it posted a time of 3:28.32.

* Aidan Hennessy repeated as the high jump champion, following his 2023 victory (6-0 3/4) in 2023. Three individuals have won the event as many as three straight years. Hennessy also won the triple jump for the second time, giving Eastern five TJ champs in all and three in the last four years. After Hennessy won in 2021 (42-6 1/4), current outdoor recordholder Collin Wiltshire (47-1 1/2) captured the 2022 title. Hennessy became the only Eastern male to win the event more than once.

* Near-misses for All-LEC honors (finishing fourth) were Kyle Nedrick in the 200, Liam Stafford in the 1500, Michael Hemmings in the high jump, Andrew Johnson in the javelin.

* The 4x100 and 4x400 relays, along with Aidan Hennessy in the triple jump won as No. 1 seeds, while Aidan Hennessy (high jump) and Cory Bill (400) prevailed in their respective events as No. 2 seeds.

* Six different Eastern athletes earned All-Rookie honors as the first freshman finishers in their events: Kyle Nedrick in the 100 and 200, Zachary D'Andrea in the 800, Michael Hemmings in the high jump, Mike Collins in the long jump, Mike Prizio in the discus and Andrew Johnson in the javelin. Nedrick was third overall in the 100 and fourth in the 200, D'Andrea and Collins second in their events, Hemmings and Johnson fourth and Prizio sixth.

TEAM SCORES
1. EASTERN CONN. 191; 2. Southern Maine 145; 3. UMass Dartmouth 98; 4. Plymouth State 81
5. Keene State 58; 6. Rhode Island College 48; 7. VTSU Castleton 25; 8. UMass Boston 5.

All-Little East Conference Qualifiers (30)
(Top 3 in each event)
Sam Klein (4), Kaito Yasuda (4), Aidan Hennessy (3), Adam Schimmelpfennig (3)
Cory Bill (2), Zachary D'Andrea (2), Thomas Stone (2), Eric Phongsa (2), Conor Hennessy (2)
Kyle Nedrick (1), Michael Parzych (1), Reynaldo Torres (1), Liam Stafford (1)
Lucian Parker-Jennings (1), Mike Collins (1)

Place	Name	Event	Mark
1.	Cory Bill	400m	50.19
1.	Cory Bill	4x400m Relay	3:29.06
1.	Aidan Hennessy	High Jump	6-4 3/4
1.	Aidan Hennessy	Triple Jump	44-7
1.	Sam Klein	4x100m Relay	42.17
1	Sam Klein	4x400m Relay	3:29.06
1.	Eric Phongsa	4x100m Relay	42.17
1.	Eric Phongsa	4x400m Relay	3:29.06
1.	Adam Schimmelpfennig	4x100m Relay	42.17
1.	Kaito Yasuda	4x100m Relay	42.17
1.	Kaito Yasuda	4x400m Relay	3:29.06
2.	Mike Collins	Long Jump	22-1 3/4
2.	Zachary D'Andrea	800m	1:57.83
2.	Zachary D'Andrea	4x800m Relay	8:23.05
2.	Lucian Parker-Jennings	Pole Vault	13-11 1/4
2.	Adam Schimmelpfennig	110mH	15.22
2.	Liam Stafford	4x800m Relay	8:23.05
2.	Thomas Stone	4x800m Relay	8:23.05
2.	Reynaldo Torres	4x800m Relay	8:23.05
2.	Kaito Yasuda	100m	11.10
2.	Kaito Yasuda	200m	22.62
3.	Aidan Hennessy	110mH	15.90
3.	Conor Hennessy	Javelin	184-5*
3.	Conor Hennessy	Triple Jump	43-1 1/2
3.	Sam Klein	200m	22.68
3.	Sam Klein	400m	50.79
3.	Kyle Nedrick	100m	11.21
3.	Michael Parzych	10,000m	33:53.94
3.	Adam Schimmelpfennig	400mH	56.78
3.	Thomas Stone	1500m	4:07.27
	*-Program record

Points Breakdown by Event

Event	Pts.	Place
200m	21	2nd-3rd-5th
400m	17	1st-3rd-6th
100m	16	2nd-3rd-5th
Triple Jump	16	1st-3rd
High Jump	15	1st-4th-6th
110m Hurdles	14	2nd-3rd
Javelin	12	3rd-4th-5th
1500m	10	3rd-4th
4x100m Relay	10	1st
4x400m Relay	10	1st
Long Jump	9	2nd-6th
4x800m Relay	8	2nd
Pole Vault	8	2nd
800m	8	2nd
10,000m	6	3rd
400m Hurdles	6	3rd
3000m Steeplechase	2	5th
Shot Put	1	6th
Discus	1	6th
Hammer	1	6th

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