George, Vieira, and Lewis Tabbed MASCAC Men’s Indoor Track & Field Athletes of the Week

WORCESTER, Mass. – Worcester State University’s trio of Marc George (Framingham, Mass.), Marcus Vieira (Peabody, Mass.), and Justin Lewis (Lynn, Mass.) have been tabbed the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) men’s indoor track & field athletes and rookie of the week, as announced by the conference Monday (Dec. 12) afternoon.

TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK

Marc George – Sr. – Framingham, Mass.

George placed 4^th in the 500m this past weekend at the Jay Carisella Invitational, hosted by Northeastern University, with a time of 1:06.87 -  just shy of his own school record.

“Marc ran a very competitive race against some stiff competition,” commented head coach Al Halper.  
“I am pleased with his time this early, but more importantly with his competitive effort during the race. He started to fade a little at near the end of the race and had a final burst to stay close to the three in front of him finishing within .59 seconds of the winner - It was a tight race all the way.”

“Besides having range in individual events, he will be a vital part of our 4x400m relay and at times either the 4x800m relay or the distance medley relay,” said Halper.

FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK

Marcus Vieira – So. – Peabody, Mass.

Vieira finished in the 35lb weight throw with a top throw of 16.38m at the Jay Carisella Invitational to rank him 5^th in the DIII NCAA rankings. He also qualified for the All New England Championships.

“Marcus, who had a great indoor and outdoor season as a freshman a year ago, has been eager to build on his success,” stated Halper.  “He has been extremely focused so far and has some lofty goals for the season.”

“He had a monster throw and PR in only his second competition this season,” commented Halper.  “Throwing that well with the season only beginning is a sign of things to come the rest of the way.”

ROOKIE OF THE WEEK

Justin Lewis – Fr. – Lynn, Mass.

The first year won the high jump at the Jay Carisella Invitational with a leap of 1.98m. He is presently ranked 11^th nationally in NCAA DIII, and already qualified for both Division III and All New Englands last week.

“Justin has started out the season and has near clearances on both occasions at 6'8",” said Halper.  He is presently ranked as the second best freshman in the country in NCAA D3 rankings. 

“Given that he is just learning a variety of new jump drills and refining his overall technique, his future is extremely bright,” commented Halper.  “He is actually a relative novice in the event, but a tremendous athlete who listens well and so far, has been able to make adjusts somewhat easily.”

“His freshman year is going to be an exciting one,” concluded Halper.

Lewis also placed ninth in the triple jump at this past weekend’s meet.