Owl Men Place Second at Gravel Invitational

WESTFIELD MA — A strong showing for Westfield State as the Owls placed second as they hosted the Jerry Gravel Invitational Meet on Saturday at the Gravel Track and Alumni Field in Westfield, Mass.

Westfield State sophomore Xavier Merkman (Springfield, MA) set a new personal best of 42.08 meters in the discus in winning the event.

The Owls went first and second in the event with senior Shane Clark (Bellows Falls, VT) throwing a season best of 40.12 meters to place second. Shane's brother, Dylan Clark (Bellows Fall, VT), placed fourth in the event with a personal best of 38.83 meters.

On the track, Westfield's Gordon Johnson (Hanson, MA) and Rowan Gottshall (West Simsbury, MA) had a first and second-place finish in the 800m. Johnson and Gottshall started the race in a close pack with Johnson having the lead and Gottshall in third. With the first lap completed, Johnson quickly pulled ahead of the pack and built himself a lead. Gottshall followed and pulled into second place as he rounded the 300-meter mark. Johnson finished with a time of 1:58.70 and Gottshall set a new PR with a time of 2:00.13.

It was a busy day for first-year Nathan Sylven (Wrentham, MA) who finished in the top three in all three of his events. Sylven started the meet with the 3000 meter steeplechase where he placed second with a time of 9:49.27.

In the 1500 meter, Abdi Nassir (New Braintree, MA) and Sylven finished second and third. Both runners recorded personal-record times in the event. Nassir finished with a time of 4:19.03 and Sylven finished with a time of 4:21.84.

A new personal best was set for William Buckley (Plymouth, MA) in the 5000 meters. Buckley finished third in the event with a time of 16:21.16. Sylven came in second in the event with a time of 16:18.14. The two teammates pushed each other as they were running side by side all race, basically racing by themselves with first being half a lap ahead and the fourth place runner being 100 meters behind.

In the triple jump, senior Colby Ranck (Chicopee, MA) set a new personal best of 13.31 meters with his second place finish in the event.

Utica College won the team scoring with a total of 213 points.  Westfield was second with 165, followed by UMass Dartmouth in third with 109.

The Owls honored their graduating seniors and their families before the meet. The seniors honored include Dan Botte (Norfolk, MA), Fox Guajardo (Attleboro, MA), Brandon Hager (Agawam, MA), Nick Hanley (Whitman, MA), Alvin Yvon (Randolph, MA), and Ranck.

The next meet for the Owls is Saturday April 20 at Trinity College Invitational.

-- written by Jordan Aguiar, sports information intern