Track and Field Set to Host Jerry Gravel Classic on Saturday
The Owls will recognize their 18 senior athletes before beginning field events at 10:00am followed by track events at 11:00am.
WESTFIELD, Mass. – Westfield State University men's and women's track and field are set to host the 2026 Jerry Gravel Classic meet from Alumni Field and the Jerry Gravel Track on Saturday with field events starting at 10:00 A.M. followed by track events at 11:00 A.M. Prior to the start of the meet, the Owls will recognize their 18 senior athletes.
Joining the Owls at the meet are AIC, Hampshire College, Mount Holyoke, Wellesley, Western New England, Wheaton, and Worcester State.
WOMEN'S TRACK AND FIELD: Senior Eliza Lee (Walpole, Mass.) is off to a tremendous start to the outdoor season as she ranks 12th on the outdoor qualifying list in both the long jump and triple jump, coming off season-best marks at the Coast Guard Invite where she posted a 5.62m leap in the long jump and 11.46m in the triple jump. Lee enters the Gravel meet at the top of the performance list in the 400m hurdles and long jump.
Both Lee and first-year athlete Bella Coughlin (Taunton, Mass.) recently earned MASCAC weekly honors with Lee snatching the conference's field athlete of the week while Coughlin claimed the rookie of the week honors.
In the pole vault, Emily Ottomaniello (Agawam, Mass.) tops the meet performance list at a height of 2.70m. She is also top three in seed mark in the high jump, clearing the bar at a height of 1.43m.
The Owls own the top two seed times in the 100m dash with junior Anjalina Lubarsky (Ludlow, Mass.) and first-year Emma Daly (Pittsfield, Mass.) claiming both spots with Lubarsky at the top in 12.80 seconds. Lubarsky also has the third fastest seed time in a 23-athlete field in the 200.
Several Owls are positioned within the top three projected spots at the meet with Tealei Chandonnet (Dracut, Mass.) second in the 1500 with a time of 5:04.89. Reese Stevens (Agawam, Mass.) and Wellesley athlete Sophia Trabuco are both ahead of the field in the 800 with Stevens' seed time less than a second behind Trabuco.
Sophomore Jailene Felix (Westfield, Mass.) will be part of a potential photo finish in the 400 as her seed time of 1:01.90 is eight tenths of a second off the leader and less than four tenths off second.
Both relay teams figure to be in contention for the top spot as the quartet of Daly, Lee, Coughlin, and Lubarsky enter Saturday with the top seed time in the 4x100 in 49.80 seconds. In the 4x400 relay, Westfield has three relay teams within the top four.
MEN'S TRACK AND FIELD: The Owl men enter Saturday's home meet with several athletes holding down top seed marks in field events. In the javelin throw, senior Johnny Ware (Wilmington, Mass.) is currently 28th in the Division III outdoor qualifying list, launching a 57.70m throw at the Wesleyan Swanson Invite to begin the season. He tops the seed mark in the Jerry Gravel Classic by a comfortable 13 meters.
The Owls hold the top two spots in three separate field events. In the long jump, the duo of senior Michael Pelletier (Wilbraham, Mass.) and junior Danny Shea (Longmeadow, Mass.) are top two in the event with Pelletier holding the top mark of 6.74m.
In the high jump, Devan Cerone (Southwick, Mass.) and Jacob Lary (Wellington, Fla.) are one and two in the event with Cerone's leap of 1.87m sitting as the best seed mark.
Two more Owls find themselves at the top of the seed chart in the discus throw as Xavier Merkman (Springfield, Mass.) checks in with a mark of 43.91m followed by Micah Scott (Uxbridge, Mass.) at 40.89m.
On the track, junior Lorcan Bergeron (Medway, Mass.) holds down the top seed time in the 800, but will have several close challengers including Kelan Mahoney of Worcester State in what shapes up to be an early preview for the MASCAC Championship meet.
In the 3000 steeplechase, first-year athlete Braedan Ramsey (Plainville, Conn.) leads the pack with a time of 10:07.33.
Sprinters Jordan Stallworth (Chicopee, Mass.) and Jace Falcone (Wilbraham, Mass.) hold down top four seed times with Stallworth pre-seeded second in the 200 (22.55) third in the 100 (11.06) while Falcone is fourth in the 200 (23.13).
The Owls will wrap up the day with a pair of top 4x400 relay teams as the four-athlete grouping with both relay teams holding identical times at 3:30.35.
WEATHER FORECAST: Saturday's forecast calls for mostly sunny and breezy conditions with a high temperature of 61 degrees with winds out of the north northwest 15mph.
COVERAGE: Multi-camera coverage of the event with live results will be available at WestfieldStateOwls.com. Join in to the broadcast as announcer Brayden Cutler interviews several student-athletes from both teams over the course of the meet.