Nekitopoulos Posts All-New England Time at Wesleyan Invite

WESTFIELD, Mass. – Westfield State senior John Nekitopoulos (West Springfield, Mass.) posted a Division III All-New England qualifying time in the 1000, securing a first-place finish with a time of 2:37.79 as the men's track and field team competed at the Wesleyan January Invite from Wesleyan, Conn. on Saturday afternoon.

Nekitopoulos added a fourth-place mark in the mile as well, registering a time of 4:34.18 to add to his All-New England mark in the 1000. The Owls had a stacked field in the 1000 with Gordon Johnson (Hanson, Mass.) finishing third (2:50.00) followed by Nick Hanley (Whitman, Mass.) in fourth place (2:53.03)

Sophomore Brogan Madden (Northborough, Mass.) secured second in the high jump, leaping over a 1.85m bar on his first attempt. Ali Warsame (Chelsea, Mass.) added to the Owls strong showing in field events, collecting a fourth-place mark in the triple jump (12.27m) and fifth in the long jump (5.95m).

Dylan Clark (Bellows Falls, Vt.) chipped in a fifth-place toss in the weight throw at a distance of 13.25m.

First-year sprinter JJ Tauscher (Easthampton, Mass.) finished third out of 29 runners in the 400, crossing the tape in 54.26 to finish just one second behind the leader.

Johnny Ware (Wilmington, Mass.) and Jarrod Ledvina (Fairhaven, Mass.) both recorded fifth-place finishes in their respective events with Ware in the 60-meter hurdles (10.04) and Ledvina in the 5000 (16:59.58).

To close out the afternoon, the Owls 4x400 relay team of Myles Craft (Oxford, Mass.), Jace Falcone (Wilbraham, Mass.), Tauscher and Rowan Gottshall (West Simsbury, Mass.) finished second with a time of 3:38.02.

Westfield State will next compete in the Pioneer Fast Trax Invitational on Saturday, February 3 before competing in the MASCAC Indoor Championship meet on February 10.