Owls Track and Field Set to Compete in 2026 MASCAC Indoor Championships
The championship meet takes place on Sunday beginning at 5:00 P.M. from Wheaton College in Norton, Mass.
WESTFIELD, Mass. – Westfield State men's and women's track and field will host and compete in the 2026 MASCAC Indoor Championship meet on Sunday from Wheaton College in Norton, Mass. with field events beginning at 5:00 P.M. and track events starting at 5:30 P.M.
Women's Track and Field: The Owl women enter the MASCAC Championship after being selected as the MASCAC preseason favorites for the indoor season. Westfield won the last indoor championship meet in 2023-24 as last year's contest was cancelled due to a major winter storm.
Senior athlete Eliza Lee (Walpole, Mass.) won three events at the Coast Guard Winter Invite #2 last weekend and currently ranks 17th in the triple jump (11.44m) and 25th in the long jump (5.57m) on the Division III national indoor qualifying list. Along with the two jumping events where Lee holds the top seed marks, Lee will also participate in several short distance events: the 60m dash, 60m hurdles, 200, and 400 with her 400-time clocked as the second fastest seed time among competitors.
The Owls will have five of the eight athletes set to run the mile as Reese Stevens (Agawam, Mass.) will look to pace the Westfield pack in tracking down current favorite Naomi Cass from Bridgewater State. Stevens projects to finish at or near the top in the 800 with her seed time of 2:26.91 ahead of her next closest challenger Olivia Downin of Bridgewater by nearly six seconds.
Shea Hamel (Longmeadow, Mass.) heads to Norton as the projected favorite in the 1000 with a seed time of 3:13.77 and is ten seconds faster than Olivia Pendelton of Bridgewater who is ranked second by seed.
The 600 race figures to be a photo-finish with sophomore Julie Richardson (Stoughton, Mass.) holding the top seed time in the event by just a few tenths of a second against a pair of Worcester State runners, Bridget O'Malley and Janine Betcher.
Westfield will look to rack up points in the 3000 with six of the nine entries. Skye Goba of Fitchburg State has the top seed time, but the Owls have the next four fastest seed times led by Tealei Chandonnet (Dracut, Mass.), serving as an event in which the squad will look to compile points towards the team's overall score.
First-year athlete Emma Daly (Pittsfield, Mass.) will be another athlete to watch for Westfield as she competes in her first championship event. She won the MASCAC Rookie of the Week twice during the indoor season and came off a highly productive meet at Coast Guard where she won the high jump (1.48m) and collected points in the 55m dash.
Men's Track and Field: The Owl men will travel to Wheaton College after being selected to finish in a tie for second place in the MASCAC Preseason Coaches' Poll, tied with Fitchburg State and behind preseason favorite Bridgewater State.
Westfield enters Sunday with the top three marks in the high jump with Devan Cerone (Southwick, Mass.) and Owen Klatka (Pittsfield, Mass.) tied with a seed mark of 1.82m.
Leapers' Daniel Shea (Longmeadow, Mass.) and Michael Pelletier (Wilbraham, Mass.) join a deep field in the long jump, both in position to register points for the team. Pelletier is also scheduled to participate in the triple jump with the fourth longest seed distance.
In the weight throw, Xavier Merkman (Springfield, Mass.) has the third longest toss out of 15 participating athletes at 15.03m, trailing only Cam Monette and Liam Bourassa from Fitchburg State, both who are ranked in the top 30 on the indoor qualifying list.
Nate Sylven (Wrentham, Mass.) and Rodrigo Miranda (West Springfield, Mass.) have the second and third fastest seed times in the 5000 behind Paulino Guevara Mateo of Fitchburg.
Less than one second separates Lorcan Bergeron's (Medway, Mass.) seed time with Brian Vale of Bridgewater in the 800m, an event where the Owls have an opportunity to claim the top spot.
In the 600, Rowan Gottshall (Simsbury, Conn.) has the second fastest seed time in the event and will look to close the distance on Kevin McBirney of Bridgewater who is the projected favorite. Gottshall along with Drew Organ (Suffield, Conn.) and Gordon Johnson (Hanson, Mass.) have nearly identical times in the 1000, an event where all three have the chance to score points for Westfield.
Up to date information regarding the 2026 MASCAC Indoor Championships can be found at WestfieldStateOwls.com.