Truong, Drane, Sliwoski Highlight Men's Indoor Track's Top 15 Finish At ECACs

New York, NY --- Sophomore Duy Truong (Worcester, MA/Doherty) and freshman Jerome Drane (Uxbridge, MA) finished with All-ECAC accolades in two events as thye helped pace the Worcester State men's indoor track and field team to a tie for 11th at the ECAC Division III Championships this afternoon at the NYC Armory.  

The meet featured 51 schools from around New England, New York, Pennslyvania and several other Mid-Atlantic states held at the famed NYC Armory Track.

WSU finished with 25 team points and equalled the sixth-best finish among public insitutions at the meet. The squads final point total and standing marked the second-highest ever at the ECACs (26 points - 7th place - 1999-2000).

Truong also clocked fifth in the 60 meters (7.04) while Drane added sixth in the 200 (22.42) before junior Jason Sliwoski (Leicester, MA) tallied 4,617 points with a new program standard in the heptathlon with fourth overall for All-ECAC honors.

On the second day of competition in the heptathlon, Sliwoski cleared the third-best pole vault (12-9.5/3.90m), sprinted to the fourth-fastest 60 meter hurdles time (9.00) and he wrapped things up with eighth in the 1,000 (2:54.48).

His heptathlon point total is currently 27th on the NCAA Division III list.

The 4x400 relay team of junior Ramses Rafael (Lawrence, MA), senior Jon Parrella (Wilmington, MA), freshman Justin Trafford (Milton, MA) and sophomore Stephen Gannon (Foxboro, MA) was nearly a second off the record they set last week at the Open New Englands with seventh place (3:20.88).

The 4x800 team of senior Kerry Sabanty (Stoughton, MA), junior Connor O'Neill (Dudley, MA), sophomore Patrick Bova (Princeton, MA) and fourth-year Tim Mazeika (Millbury, MA) notched eighth with a time of 8:04.36.

The finish for the 4x800 squad marked the first time that a WSU relay team has earned regional accolades at a meet in either the indoor or outdoor season.

In the field, junior Andrew Johnson (Thompson, CT) was just out of the running for All-ECAC laurels with ninth in the high jump (6-03.25/1.91m) while sophomore Daniel Ross (Foxboro, MA) cleared 23rd in the high jump (6-01.25/1.86m).

Sophomore Terrence Gibson (Rockland, MA) will find out on Monday morning to see if he made the NCAA Division III Indoor Championship field with his school-record time from last week in the 60 meter hurdles at the Open New England Championships.

Friday's Recap

New York City, NY --- Sophomore Duy Truong (Worcester, MA/Doherty) helped lead the 4x200 meter relay team to first place and he qualified for the 60 meter finals as the Worcester State men's indoor track and field team competed at the ECAC Division III Championships on Friday afternoon at the NYC Armory.  

The winning 4x200 meter relay squad of Truong, junior Ramses Rafael (Lawrence, MA), sophomore Stephen Gannon (Foxboro, MA) and freshman Jerome Drane (Uxbridge, MA) reset the previous school mark with a time of 1:28.64.

The relay team, which outran the Bridgewater State squad by nearly a second in the fourth heat, captured the programs third relay title at a regional meet and the first one that a Worcester State men's indoor relay team has ever won.

Truong and Rafael helped the 4x100 relay team win a Division III New England crown in last year's outdoor season.

Truong also clocked a split of 6.99 for the seventh seed in the 60 for tomorrows finals before he wrapped up his day with ninth in the 60 meter hurdles (6.42) – 0.07 of a second away from eighth. Both times were also personal best times for Truong.

Junior Jason Sliwoski (Leicester, MA) ended his afternoon in third with 2,562 points in the heptathlon.

He had the best time in the 60 meters (7.32), the top finish in the shot put (39-01.75/11.93m), the second-best leap in the long jump (21-04.25) and the 12th highest mark in the high jump (5-04.25/1.63m).

His 60 and long jump totals were good for personal records as he is trying to stamp his ticket for the NCAA Division III meet next week.