WESTON, Mass. – Lasell College had two individual champions and placed fourth as a team Sunday at the inaugural Great Northeast Athletic Conference Men's Track & Field Championships, hosted by Regis College.
Junior Ben Lane (Rutland, Vt.) captured the 100 meter dash for Lasell in a school-record time of 11.39 seconds, breaking his own mark of 11.41 set last year. Lane also finished runner-up in the 200 meter dash in a time of 23.29 seconds, not far behind the winner, Francisco Tavares of Emmanuel College (23.12).
Junior Ryan Dalaba (North Granville, N.Y.) captured the 5,000 meter championship for Lasell, finishing the race in a school-record time of 16:37.79, breaking his own mark of 16:48.94 set last year.
Freshman Ben Biello (N. Dighton, Mass.) also had a solid day for the Lasers; he placed fourth in the 100 meters in a personal best time of 12.06 seconds, and took seventh in the 200 meters in 24.49 seconds. Sophomore Massimo Cugno (Medford, Mass.) was 10th in the 200 (personal-best 25.37 seconds) and 14th in the 100 (12.24).
Sophomore Matt Holden (Methuen, Mass.) was a solid fifth-place finisher in the 800 meters in a personal-best time of 2:08.67. Senior Kyle Vonick (Wethersfield, Conn.) had a strong finish in the 400 meters, placing sixth in 55.42 seconds. Sophomore Kevin Wallin (Billerica, Mass.) was eighth in the 1500 meters in a personal-best time of 6:23.12.
Also competing in individual events on the track for Lasell was senior Troy Gonsalves (Providence, R.I.), who placed 10th in the 400 meters in 1:05.23; and sophomore Kyle Mullen (West Newbury, Mass.), 12th in the 800 meters in a personal-best 2:36.34.
Lasell's 4x100 meter relay team (Cugno, Vonick, Biello and Lane) was the top group in relay races, finishing runner-up in a time of 46.66 seconds. The 4x400 meter team (Vonick, Cugno, Holden and Biello) finished fourth in 3:53.22, and the 4x800 meter contingent (Holden, Mullen, Gonsalves and Dalaba) was fourth in 10:11.36.
Cugno was Lasell's top finisher in field events, placing ninth in the javelin with a throw of 30.30 meters (99'5"). Sophomore Alex Desharnais (Kingston, Mass.) represented Lasell in three field events, finishing 12th in the javelin (25.00m/82'0") and 13th in both the shot put (8.00m/26'3") and discus (20.44m/67'1").
Regis College won the team championship with 229 points, followed by Saint Joseph's College of Maine (170), Emmanuel College (132), Lasell (47) and Suffolk University (0).
The Lasers are led by first-year head coach Michael McGrane.
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