STANDISH, ME - Led by Head Coach Ray Putnam, the 2012-13 Saint Joseph's College indoor track team went into its inaugural season with high expectations. The first meet in squad history took place on December 8th, 2012 at the Bowdoin College Invitational. Senior captain Jack LaFreniere (Alton, N.H.) led the Royal Blue with two individual victories. LaFreniere placed first with a 51.11 time in the 400 meter dash, and clocked in at 22.95 in the 200 meter run, also the best in the field.
The Monks finished fourth in their inaugural meet at Bowdoin, and then went to participate in the Southern Maine Invitational at the University of Southern Maine on January 5th. LaFreniere recorded his third win of the season with a 22.95 time in the 200 meter dash, and additionally finished third in the 55 meter run (6.81). SJC runners Joe DiSalvo (Derry, N.H.) and Billy Brooks (Cape Elizabeth, Maine) also performed well; DiSalvo finishing as the runner-up in the 800-meter run (2:20.79), and Brooks placing third in the 400-meter dash (58.90).
On January 12th the team headed to Brunswick for the Bowdoin College Five-Way Indoor Track & Field Meet. LaFreniere won the 200-meter dash (23.39), and freshman runner Sam Dunay (Groton, Ct.) placed sixth in the long jump, a career high. Fellow freshman runner Taidghe Hagan had a solid night as well, finishing ninth in the 1,000-meter run field.
The Monks headed to Lewiston on January 19th to participate in the Bates College Invitational. Here, LaFreniere finished just .02 seconds off the pace to finish second in the 200-meter dash. Junior co-captain Faisal Abdillahi (Lewiston, Maine) finished with a solid fourth-place finish in the 1,000 meter race, clocking in at 2:40.39.
Dunay became the first SJC athlete ever to participate in a heptathlon event when he competed in the multi-event at Bates. He finished eighth in the 60 meter dash (7.89), ninth in the long-jump (4.86m), seventh in the shot put (8.90m), ninth in high-jump (1.58m), seventh in the 60 meter hurdles (9.55), and seventh in the 1,000 meter race (3:17.26). The Monks placed fifth as a team in the Invitational.
In a nine-school meet in Gorham on January 26, LaFreniere won both the 200 meter dash (32.31) and the 400 meter (51.85). Abdillahi placed third in the 400 meter dash (52.43) and four different SJC runners earned points in the 600 meter run: Connor Dufour (Augusta, Maine) placed third, Hagan was fourth, Mark McCarraher (Franklin, Mass.) finished sixth, and Andrew Caron (Gardiner, Maine) finished seventh. DiSalvo cracked in the top ten in the one-mile run, finishing at 4:48.38. The Monks finished seventh at the meet, with Merrimack College taking home the trophy.
At the 2013 State of Maine Championship at USM, LaFreniere accounted for 20 of SJC's points after winning two events on the night. He came out victorious in both the 400 and 200 meter dashes, finishing with 50.61 and 23.28 times, respectively. The Monks' 4x400 Meter Relay earned four points with a 3:56.28 time, good enough for a fourth-place finish. Bates College ran away with the team victory with a total of 207 points.
LaFreniere closed out the historical season with an appearance in the 400-Meter dash at the 2013 ECAC Division III Indoor Track & Field Championships at the New Balance Track and Field Center in New York City on March 2nd. Racing among the elite athletes in the region, the senior placed 20th with a 51.09 effort in the 400-Meter event.
WRITTEN BY JACK HOLLY '14
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 430-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.
