Page Breaks Pole Vault School Record at Tufts Final Qualifying Meet

WORCESTER, Mass. – Worcester State University's pole vaulter, Scott Page (Baldwinville, Mass.) had a career day at the Tufts Final Qualifying Meet on Saturday, as he broke a school record with a height of 4.36m, breaking Jim Mattison's previous record of 4.27.

"He took advantage of a top level field of competitors that mostly included athletes trying to qualify for nationals or as with Scott, trying to reach a new PR for the season," commented head coach Al Halper.  "Scott accomplished this feat and earned himself a new school record in the last opportunity of the indoor season.  Finishing with a milestone will help to spur him forward to new heights in the outdoor season just a couple of weeks away"

The men's throwers dominated once again, as Sam Weeks (Methuen, Mass.) registered a throw of 16.14m in the shot put for a second place finish.

"Sam competed in the shot put only this week and fell just short of his goal of improving his distance," said Halper.  "He still took second overall. Now we have to wait to see if he makes the shot put field as he is slightly out of the top fifteen that get to go. He will only make the cut if some of the guys in front of him do not declare to go.  He is however, still in the mix in the weight throw and we expect him to get to nationals in that event.  As this is his senior year, it will be a great way to "cap off " his indoor career.  "

Peabody, Mass. natives, Marcus Vieira and Anthony Christo took part in the weight throw competitions, coming in 4^th (17.32m) and 8^th (15.46m) places, respectively.

"Marcus will also have to wait to see if he makes the NCAA field in the weight throw,"  stated Halper.  "Unfortunately, a number of athletes have passed him in other last chance meets this weekend. This was unexpected to some degree, but you never know when athletes will show up with their best efforts. It would be great to get both guys to the NCAAs, but for Marcus there will be a number of more opportunities to get there as he is only a sophomore."

Phil Bynum (Peabody, Mass.) was the sole Lancers competitor in the 60M Dash, as he came in at 7:28.13. After being hampered all season by sickness and injuries, he had a good training week and raced well.  "He took advantage of this final opportunity to race indoors to give him more confidence as we head to outdoor season,"  mentioned Halper.  "He had a nice start after working on that this week and now just needs to work on the final part of the race. As he gets stronger going into outdoor season, we will work with him on his stamina and quickness.  He wants to be at his best and show his true ability. He has the talent to help the team do well outdoors."

On the women's side, junior Abigail Danso (Worcester, Mass.) and Haley Moss (Melrose, Mass.) competed.

"It was a great day all around," commented head coach Andrea Ouellette.

Danso made it to the finals in the 60M Hurdles and finished 7^th in a time of 9.25.

"Abby posted two great times today with 9.22 to qualify her for finals and came back at 9.25 proving that she's ready and hungry for next season," said Ouellette.

Moss picked up a personal record (PR) in the high jump at 1.60m.

"Haley finally put it all together, and had great speed in her approached and cleared a PR," said Ouellette. "It gives her a lot of confidence and momentum heading into the outdoor season."

The Lancers will await final standings to see if and who will be going to NCAA's. On the other hand, they begin the outdoor season on Saturday, Mar. 25. Both the men's and women's teams will be traveling to Bridgewater State for the Bridgewater Invitational, while a group of the men's team will be traveling to Richmond, Va. to take part in the Fred Hardy Invitational on the same date.