4x400 Relay Propel Men to Second Place at MASCAC Indoor Championships

WESTFIELD, Mass. – Michael Pelletier (Wilbraham, Mass.) and Devan Cerone (Southwick, Mass.) both secured individual event victories for Westfield State men's track and field which turned in a second-place performance at the 2026 MASCAC Indoor Championship meet from Wheaton College in Norton, Mass. on Sunday afternoon.

Pelletier and Cerone gathered all-conference honors while fronting a strong overall performance for the Owls in field events and Westfield also won two of the three relay races with the other serving as the separator against Fitchburg State.

The Owls and Falcons were both tied with a team score of 130 entering the final event of the night, the 4x400m relay race. The quartet of Jace Falcone (Wilbraham, Mass.), Eric Lu (West Springfield, Mass.), Brandon Paquette (West Springfield, Mass.), and Jordan Stallworth (Chicopee, Mass.) were able to finish one spot ahead of Fitchburg, gathering six points to the Falcons four to earn second place with a total of 136 points. Bridgewater State won the meet with 237 points.

Pelletier earned first place in the long jump, winning the tiebreaker against Clayton Pastor Norales of Bridgewater after completing a 6.69m leap on his second attempt. Cerone was the individual champion in the high jump, clearing the bar with a season-best 1.87m hurdle.

The relay races were a strength of the Owls on the evening, securing first place in both the 4x200 and 4x800. In the 4x200, Jordan and Marcus Stallworth (Springfield, Mass.) joined Falcone and Paquette for a winning time of 1:33.68 to nab all-conference honors. In the 4x800, Rowan Gottshall (Simsbury, Conn.), Colin Mahoney (Plainville, Mass.), Drew Organ (Suffield, Conn.), and Lorcan Bergeron (Medway, Mass.) crossed the tape with a team time of 8:30.67, a season-best time for the Owls. Westfield totaled 26 points across the three relay races.

The Owls logged 20 points in the high jump with Jacob Lary (Wellington, Fla.) following Cerone's 10-point effort with a third-place leap at 1.82m for six points. Daniel Shea (Longmeadow, Mass.) was a top three finisher in the long jump with Pelletier and Shea registering 16 points combined as Shea's jump of 6.66m earned third.

Bergeron placed second in the 800 by a narrow margin, securing eight points with a time of 2:01.58. Reid Sunshine (Suffield, Conn.) helped the Owls cause in the event with a personal-record time of 2:05.98 and in doing so received a top three finish.

Westfield turned in solid efforts in both the 5000 and 1000, gathering 12 points in each event. Nate Sylven (Wrentham, Mass.) was third in the 5000 with a time of 16:39.71 while first-year runners' Rodrigo Miranda (West Springfield, Mass.) and Braedan Ramsey (Plainville, Conn.) both set personal-record times.

In the 1000, Organ was the Owls top finisher, checking in third with a time of 2:45.26. He also recorded a PR in the mile along with his Owls teammate Mahoney.

Jordan Stallworth delivered a strong showing in both the 60m dash and the 200, registering a PR in the 60 by sprinting across the tape in 7.23 seconds. In the 200, he raced to a 23.14-second time for third.

Gottshall set a personal record of his own in the 600, finishing second overall with a time of 1:25.90 for eight points.

Xavier Merkman (Springfield, Mass.) and Micah Scott (Uxbridge, Mass.) were both fourth in their respective field events, Merkman in the weight throw (13.89m) and Scott in the shot put (12.56m).

Up next on the Owls schedule is a last chance postseason qualifier on Saturday, February 21 before qualified athletes participate in the New England Division III Championships from Boston, Mass.