Ortiz Wins Two Titles, Owls Second at MASCAC Indoor Championships
NORTHAMPTON, Mass. – Westfield State student athletes won four individual events, led by wins from Owen Ortiz (Greenfield, Mass./Turners Falls HS) in the long jump and triple jump, as the men’s track and field team took second place in the 2020 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference indoor track and field championships at the Smith College Field House on Saturday.
NORTHAMPTON, Mass. – Westfield State student athletes won four individual events, led by wins from Owen Ortiz (Greenfield, Mass./Turners Falls HS) in the long jump and triple jump, as the men's track and field team took second place in the 2020 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference indoor track and field championships at the Smith College Field House on Saturday.
Ortiz paced the long jump with a top leap of 7.02 meters, then followed up later in the day with the individual title in the triple jump, with a hop-skip-leap of 13.38 meters.
Senior William Canty (S. Grafton, Mass./ Grafton) won perhaps the closest race of the day, winning the lean to the tape in the 50 hurdles. Canty posted a time of 8.49 seconds – 2/100ths of a second ahead of Bridgewater's Dimetri Morris. Canty scored points in the 60 meter dash (5th), 200 meters (5th), pole vault (6th) and long jump (4th).
Conner Grady (Douglas, Mass.) topped the 1000 meters in 2:40.02, and also ran the leadoff leg of the Owls MASCAC title 4x800 relay team, partnering with Corey Pooler (Middleboro, Mass.), Zac Bentley (Acushnet, Mass./Taunton) and Shea Hiltz (Tewksbury, Mass.) to win in 8:28.09.
Westfield finished second with 168 points. Bridgewater won the men's team title with 246 points. Fitchburg was third with 109, and Worcester State fourth with 57.
It was the first independent MASCAC Indoor Championship meet. For more than a decade the MASCAC championship was scored within the New England Alliance meet, which served as the championship for both the MASCAC and Little East Conference before being discontinued this year.
In a change in the schedule, the Owls will be idle next weekend, before travelling to the New England Division III Championship meet at Springfield College on Feb,. 28 and 29.