WALTHAM, Mass. – Junior Eric Kennedy (West Hartford, Conn./Northwest Catholic HS) and sophomore Steve Maffiolini (Southington, Conn./Southington HS) were among four members of the Bentley University men's indoor track team who won events during the Reggie Poyau Memorial at Brandeis University Friday night.
Also turning in winning efforts for the Falcons were sophomore Anthony Charter (Hubbardston/ Quabbin Regional HS) and freshman Sean Nee (West Yarmouth/Dennis-Yarmouth Reg. HS).
Kennedy took first among 40 runners in the 200 meters, with his time of 22.58 seconds elevating him to third on Bentley's all-time list in the event and provisionally qualifying for the NCAA Division II championships. He won the race by 12 hundredths of a second over UMass-Lowell's Kevin Johnston. Kennedy also achieved a new PR twice while placing third of 32 in the 55 meters. He posted a 6.78 in the prelims and came back with a 6.72 in the finals.
Maffiolini's winning margin in the 400 meters was very similar of Kennedy's in the 200. He set a new PR of 51.90 to finish 0.11 seconds in front of Emmanuel's Adam Julien. Nee ran to victory in the 1,000 meters, with his time of 2:41.39 about four seconds better than runner-up Brian Collins of Emmanuel.
Charter was first of nine in the long jump, with his leap of 21 feet, 8.25 inches elevating him to sixth on Bentley's all-time list. He outdistanced Patrick Greaney of UMass-Lowell by three-and-a-half inches to win the event, and he also took second in the triple jump, clearing 42 feet, 6.75 inches. Teammate Connor Hichens (Sharon/Sharon HS), a freshman, followed in third place (42'3.5").
Also scoring in individual events for Bentley were sophomore Christian Connolly (Kingston/ Silver Lake Regional HS) and seniors Bryan Carton (Norwell/Norwell HS), Jordan Parkinson (Portsmouth, N.H./Portsmouth HS) and Sean Maguire (Essex, Vt./Essex HS). Connolly took third in the 800 (2:04.19), Carton and Parkinson went 4-5 in the 600 with times of 1:27.56 and 1:27.94, and Maguire's 8:49.40 in the 3000 was good for sixth out of 39.
As a team, Bentley finished third of eight with 77 points. Stonehill led the field with 141 points, and UMass-Lowell was second with 125.
Bentley will not return to action until Jan. 20 when it will compete in the Greater Boston Track Club Invitational at Harvard.
Team Scores: 1. Stonehill 141, 2. UMass-Lowell 125, 3. Bentley 77, 4. Emmanuel 66, 5. Brandeis 55, 6. Keene State 24, 7. Lasell 17, 8. Conn. College 12
