FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
LINKS: PERFORMANCE LIST | EVENT ORDER
GNAC to host inaugural indoor
meet Sunday at Boston University
WINTHROP, Mass. – For the first time in the league's history, the Great Northeast Athletic Conference is excited to sponsor its 2020 Indoor Track & Field Championships this Sunday, February 16 at the Boston University Track & Tennis Center. After adding outdoor track & field championships two years ago, the inaugural indoor meet will feature the GNAC's six sponsoring institutions: Colby-Sawyer College, Emmanuel College, Lasell University, Regis College, Saint Joseph's College of Maine, and Suffolk University.
In pre-championship polls voted upon by the league's six head coaches, the Suffolk men topped the respective rankings, with the Rams receiving five of six first-place votes. For the complete results, please see below.
Field events on Sunday morning will begin at 11:00 AM, with the full-day schedule going until approxiamtely 5:00 PM, at which point the GNAC will conduct a post-meet ceremony recognizing event winners and top team finishers.
The BU Track & Tennis Center, located at 100 Ashford Street, opened in 2002 and has 1,500 fixed seating and maximum capacity of nearly 5,000 fans. Take a look inside the 83,000 square-foot, state-of-the-art facility by clicking HERE.
For parking, follow the signs and directions by the Boston University parking attendants to the Langsam parking garage located at 142 Gardner Street. Concessions will also be available for purchase and there is no fan admission charge.
In the men's poll, Saint Joseph's finished second to Suffolk with one first-place vote and 29 points, followed by Regis, Emmanuel, Colby-Sawyer and Lasell.
Saint Joseph's figures to contend with a strong balance of returning athletes and promising newcomers. Seniors Alex Fitzgerald (Lebanon, Maine) and Jacob Boissonnault (Biddeford, Maine), juniors Michael Mason (East Bridgewater, Mass.) and Lance Santeusanio III (North Berwick, Maine), and sophomores Troy Hendricks (Hiram, Maine) and Shawn Breen (Plymouth, N.H.) will lead the charge for the Monks after helping SJC claim a runner-up finish in the 2019 GNAC Outdoor Track & Field Championship. Freshmen Simon Vinci (Peabody, Mass.) Ricky Reyes (Worcester, Mass.) and Devin Abbott (Berwick, Maine) have enjoyed tremendous starts to their collegiate careers and will be asked to bolster the Monks' chances this Sunday.
The Suffolk men have dominated weekly accolades thus far in the GNAC's first indoor season under head coach Will Feldman, as sophomore Matyas Csiki-Fejer owns the top GNAC showings in the 1000-meter (2:36.99), the mile (4:25.40) and 3000-meter (8:42.53).
Meanwhile, sophomore Michael Balestra has captured three GNAC Men's Field Athlete of the Week honors and is tops among GNAC throwers in the weight throw with a toss of 15.30 meters, and Rams freshman Connor Baston has claimed four GNAC Rookie of the Week awards, laying claim to the top GNAC marks in both the 60-meter (7.31) and 200-meter (23.57), and he's also excelled in the long jump this winter.
The third GNAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships will take place on Sunday, April 26, hosted on campus by Colby-Sawyer College in New London, N.H.
2020 GNAC Men's Indoor Championship Poll
1. Suffolk (5) - 35
2. Saint Joseph's Maine (1) - 29
3. Regis - 24
4. Emmanuel - 19
5. Colby-Sawyer - 12
6. Lasell - 7
THANKS IN LARGE PART TO GNAC SPORTS INFORMATION OFFICE
