Women’s Track and Field First, Men Second in Outdoor Preseason Polls
Women’s track and field were a unanimous selection at number one while the men were second in the coaches’ poll.
WESTFIELD, Mass. – The Westfield State women's track and field team was picked to finish first in the 2026 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference outdoor season while the men were chosen to finish second as selected by the coaches throughout the conference.
The Owl women were a unanimous selection at the top of the poll, earning 25 points and all five place votes from opposing institutions while the men earned one first-place vote and 12 points.
Women's Track and Field: The Owls enter the outdoor season in search of a third consecutive championship after winning back-to-back titles in 2024 and 2025. Westfield had eight all-conference representatives from last season's winning squad, with six athletes returning for another championship push this season.
Seniors' Eliza Lee (Walpole, Mass.), Julianne Kelly (Natick, Mass.), and Emily Ottomaniello (Agawam, Mass.) were all-conference recipients at last year's MASCAC championship meet with Lee winning the 400m hurdles and the triple jump. Kelly won the 3000m steeplechase for the second consecutive season and Ottomaniello secured the pole vault title for a second time.
Tealei Chandonnet (Dracut, Mass.), Molly Lenehan (Newington, Conn.), and Reese Stevens (Agawam, Mass.) were part of the 4x800-winning relay team.
Westfield got the outdoor season started last weekend at the J. Elmer Swanson Invitational with Shea Hamel (Longmeadow, Mass.) delivering one of the top results with a fourth-place finish in the 5000.
Men's Track and Field: After finishing as the team runner-up in last year's conference championship meet, the Owls are selected as the preseason runner-up again for the 2026 season. The Owls had seven athletes earn all-conference honors with the 4x800 relay team returners Rowan Gottshall (Simsbury, Conn.) and Colin Mahoney (Plainville, Mass.) seeking an all-conference nod again this time around.
Several Owls got off to strong starts to begin the outdoor campaign last weekend with Johnny Ware (Wilmington, Mass.) placing third in the javelin with a throw of 57.70m which is an automatic qualifying mark for the New England Division III Championships later this spring.
After posting a strong indoor season, Michael Pelletier (Wilbraham, Mass.) continued into the outdoor season with a sixth-place leap in the long jump at 6.35m. On the track, Jordan Stallworth (Chicopee, Mass.) paced the Owls sprinters with a fifth-place time in the 100 and followed it up with a tenth place showing in the 200.
The two teams will compete at the Yellow Jacket Open at American International College in Springfield, Mass. on Saturday at 9:00 A.M.