STANDISH, ME – The Saint Joseph's College track and field team competed in the squad's first outdoor meet - the Mount Holyoke Invitational – as a varsity program on Saturday. The first outdoor event of the 2013 spring season was a non-scoring meet.
On the women's side, freshman Amanda Celata (Dedham, Mass.) highlighted the day by placing third in the triple jump (8.82m) while sophomore Heather Eaton (Lincolnville, Maine) finished seventh in the 5000 meter run (20:36.04).
Junior Sarah Bakun (Clinton, Mass.) finished 17th in the javelin throw (13.03m) and 18th in the 400 meter dash (1:21.29) while freshman Meghan Williams (Greenland, N.H./St. Thomas Aquinas) was 23rd in the 100 meter dash (15.53) and first-year Brenna Fitzgibbon (Exeter, N.H.) placed 36th in the 200 meter dash (35.41).
Junior Faisal Abdillahi (Lewiston, Maine) put an exclamation point on the Monks' first outdoor event by winning the 400 meter dash with a 52.47 effort. Freshman Sam Dunay (Groton, Conn.) also performed well, finishing third in the long jump (5.70m) and 110 meter hurdles (17.28) events and placing seventh in the javelin throw (40.69) in the opening meet.
Freshman Billy Brooks (Cape Elizabeth, Maine) was fourth in the long jump (5.46m) and seventh in the 400 meter dash (57.83) while sophomore Jeff Merrill (Fitchburg, Mass.) and first-year Connor Dufour (Augusta, Maine) both captured ninth-place finishes in the javelin throw (36.92) and 800 meter run (2:09.21) competitions, respectively.
Sophomore Joe DiSalvo (Derry, N.H.) finished 13th in the 1500 meter run (4:34.98) and freshman Andrew Caron (Gardiner, Maine) placed 18th in the 800 meter run (2:22.06).
In the final event of the day, Abdillahi, freshman Asad Dahia (Portland, Maine/North Yarmouth Academy), Dufour and Brooks combined to post a fifth-place finish in the 4x400 meter relay (3:44.47).
Saint Joseph's resumes action with an appearance in the Eric Loeshner Meet at Fitchburg State University on Saturday, April 6th.
Saint Joseph's College is Maine's only Catholic liberal arts college, providing a supportive, personalized and career-focused education for more than 100 years. From its 350-acre campus on the shores of Sebago Lake, the College offers more than 40 undergraduate programs to a population of approximately 1,000 students. Saint Joseph's College Online provides certificates, undergraduate and advanced degrees for working adults through an online learning program. For more, visit www.sjcme.edu.
