Men’s Track and Field Opens 2026 Slate at Coast Guard Winter Invite

WESTFIELD, Mass. – Westfield State junior Jordan Stallworth (Chicopee, Mass.) set a personal record in the 55-meter dash and an indoor personal best in the 200 as the Owls competed at the Coast Guard Winter Invite #1 from New London, Conn. on Saturday.

Stallworth placed fourth out of a field of 34 runners in the 200, crossing the tape with a time of 23.59. His 6.79 preliminary time in the 55-meter dash served as a top mark for Stallworth as well.

Stallworth was also part of a strong 4x400 relay showing as he anchored a quartet which placed third of nine teams with a time of 3:43.86, which included Lorcan Bergeron (Medway, Mass.), Gordon Johnson (Hanson, Mass.), and Rowan Gottshall (Simsbury, Conn.).

The Owls earned three New England Division III provisional marks on the day from Michael Pelletier (Wilbraham, Mass.), Daniel Shea (Longmeadow, Mass.), and Xavier Merkman (Springfield, Mass.).

Pelletier was second in the long jump, registering a leap of 6.65m while setting a PR from the short approach (shorter runway giving less steps on approach). Shea returned for the spring semester and got off to a terrific start with a provisional mark in the long jump at a distance of 6.43m which was good for sixth place in the event. Merkman launched a 15.03m throw in the weight toss for a fourth-place finish.

Johnny Ware (Wilmington, Mass.) delivered two exceptional results in the 55-meter hurdles, earning personal best times in both the preliminary and finals of the 55m hurdles, placing fourth in the final with a time of 8.79 seconds.

It was an all-Owls affair in the 1000 with Rodrigo Miranda (West Springfield, Mass.) pacing the pack with a first-place mark with a time of 3:06.80. Cole Grady (West Springfield, Mass.) followed behind with a second place showing in a time of 3:08.64 with Ryan Anderson (Norwell, Mass.) rounding up the top three in 3:16.52.

In the 800, the Owls had two of the top three finishers with Bergeron checking in second (2:04.06) just ahead of his teammate Gottshall who earned third by crossing the tape in 2:04.88.

Moving to the 400, Westfield had two of the top five runners with Jace Falcone (Wilbraham, Mass.) tallying a second-place mark with a time of 55.81. Myles Craft (Oxford, Mass.) was fifth in the event in 55.88.

In total, the Owls had seven personal records and four indoor best marks.

Westfield State will be back in action next weekend, heading back to Springfield College for the Massasoit Invitational.