Germain, Rafael, and Gannon Pace Men's Indoor Track at Harvard Open

Cambridge, MA --- Junior Ramses Rafael (Lawrence, MA) and sophomore Stephen Gannon (Foxboro, MA) both captured eighth (50.96) and tenth (51.31), respectively, in the 400 meters to punch  their tickets for the Division III New England Championships and lead the Worcester State men's indoor track and field team at the non-scoring Harvard Open on Saturday afternoon.

The meet featured top flight teams from Divisions I, II and III while several local track clubs also participated.

Gannon finished the meet with 16th in the 200 (22.90) before Rafael added 35th in the 200 (22.90). As of this past weekend's competition, Rafael's 400 time is second in Division III New England and Gannon's is fifth.

In the field, junior David Germain (Malden, MA) sprung his way to third in the high jump (2.00m/6-6.75) for the third-best height in the NCAA Division III.

Germain's leap is also tied atop the Division III New England Championship leaderboard he is tied for fifth in the Open New England standings.

Other standout performances included junior Andrew Johnson's (Thompson, CT) mark in the high jump (1.90m/6-2.75) for 13th while as classmate Matthew Begley (E. Bridgewater, MA) added 13th in the shot put (13.18m/43-3) and 23rd in the weight throw (13.53m/44-4.75).

Second-year Robert White (Ludlow, MA) also chalked up 19th in the weight throw (13.81m/45-3.75) and senior Shawn McCabe wasn't too far behind in 24th (13.25m/43-5.75).

The 4x440 yard relay team of Rafael and senior classmates Kerry Sabanty (Easton, MA), Tim Mazeika (Millbury, MA) and Jon Parrella (Wilmington, MA) placed eighth with a time of 3:31.36. Their converted time to the 4x400 relay is currently fifth in Division III New England.

Worcester State will take a month off and return to action on January 12 when they compete at the Tufts Snowflake Invitational.