Clark, LaForest, O'Brien Win MASCAC Titles, Men Place 2nd as a Team

WESTFIELD, Mass. –      Westfield State's Shane Clark (Bellows Falls, Vt.), Brenden LaForest (Westfield, Mass.), and Kyle O'Brien (Whitman, Mass./Whitman-Hanson HS)  all won individual titles at the 2022 MASCAC men's indoor track and field championships, held at Whaton College in Norton, Mass. on Saturday.

The Owls men's track and field finished second in the team scoring, outpaced by Bridgewater State, 254-153.   Fitchburg was distant third at 113, followed by Worcester State with 31.

Clark picked up 10 points for the Owls in the pole vault, clearing 2.70 meters to win the event.

He added 12 more points to the Owls tally with a pair of third place finishes in the shot put (13.11m) and the weight throw (13.19) events.

LaForest, a transfer from Sacred Heart University, has made an immediate impact on the Owls, winning the 400 meters with a time of 50.94 seconds.   He added a third-place finish in the 200 meters.

O'Brien bested the field in the 600 meters, hitting the tape in 1:30.34, edging out teammate John Nekitopoulos (West Springfield, Mass.), who was second in 1:30.96, and Aidan O'Neil (Chicopee, Mass.) added a sixth place finish in the event to account for 19 team points from the 600 meters alone.

Senior Mike Maher (Attleboro, Mass.)  helped the cause with strong finishes in both distance events, placing second in the 5000 meters in 16:40 and adding a third place finish in the 3000 in 9:23.

Senior Owen Ortiz (Turners Falls, Mass.) turned in a second place finish in the triple jump with a mark of 13.88 meters.

Enrique Delgado (Worcester, Mass./North) added a third place finish in the 800 and Jonathan Chery (Randolph, Mass./Canton) a third in the 60 dash to add to the Owls scoring contingent.

The Owls season continues next week, as they will return to Wheaton College to compete at the Wheaton Invitational.