Pride Track and Field Receives Share of Major GNAC Awards
WINTHROP, Mass. – The Regis College track and field team picked up four major awards, as the voting by the Great Northeast Athletic Conference coaches was finalized after the league championship meet and announced Monday afternoon by the conference office.
Senior Matthew Malone (West Roxbury, Mass.) received GNAC Men's Track Athlete of the Year honors, while classmates Daniel LaFlamme (Watertown, Conn.) and Fatima St. Hilaire (Dorchester, Mass.) repeated as GNAC Men's and Women's Field Athletes of the Year, respectively.
In addition, the GNAC-champion women's track and field team earned the Institutional Sportsmanship Award from the league coaches for the second straight year. Individually, sophomore Cole Anderson (Falmouth, Maine) and senior Cassandra Froio (Tewksbury, Mass.) represent Regis on the GNAC Men's and Women's Track & Field All-Sportsmanship Teams for their commitment to fair play during their squads' competitions.
Malone picked up his second straight conference title in the 110 meter hurdles during the GNAC Championships, posting a time of 16.16 seconds in the preliminaries and 16.48 seconds in the finals. He also finished third in the 400 meter hurdles with a time of 1:02.46 and helped the 4x100 meter relay squad to a third place finish with a total time of 47.67 seconds.
LaFlamme capped his collegiate career with two conference titles, finishing first in the shot put by over one full meter with a school-record mark of 13.48 meters (44' 2.75"). He also cruised to the GNAC title in the discus throw with a personal-best mark of 39.28 meters (128' 10"), plus he broke the school record in the hammer throw, placing second in that event with a mark of 45.97 meters (150' 10").
St. Hilaire secured a total of 48 points for the Pride as they won the conference championship for the second consecutive season, starting with a victory in the long jump with a top mark of 5.52 meters (18' 1.5"). She broke the school record in the triple jump with a top leap of 11.52 meters (37' 9.5"), winning that event by almost one full meter.
On the track, St. Hilaire won GNAC titles in the 100 meter dash, posting times of 12.46 seconds in the preliminaries and 12.57 seconds in the finals, and the 200 meter dash with a winning time of 27.72 seconds. She also helped the Pride to a second place finish in the 4x400 meter relay with a total time of 4:27.07.
The collegiate careers of Malone and LaFlamme have concluded, but St. Hilaire has a good chance of qualifying for the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships. She is currently 13th in the country in the long jump and tied for 22nd in the triple jump. St. Hilaire plans to compete at the MIT Final Qualifier this Thursday, May 16, starting at 5 p.m., with the official list of NCAA qualifiers set to be announced Saturday, May 18, at 9 a.m.