UMass Dartmouth's Dan Almeida finishes 6th in
Open New England triple jump championship

(Dartmouth, MA) - Junior triple jumper Dan Almeida (South Attleboro, MA) capped an outstanding spring track and field season with a seasonal best performance and a sixth-place finish in the annual Open New England Championships held May 12-13, 2000 at the University of Connecticut.

Almeida's triple jump of 45' 4 1/2" against the top track athletes from Division I, II and III colleges and universities in New England was the highlight of his spring season and helped the Corsairs place 29th out of the 35 teams competing in the event. Coming off a successful indoor season in the triple jump, Almeida continued his success during the spring, including a fourth-place finish at the New England Division III Championships, an All-New England Alliance performance and a pair of first-place finishes in invitational competitions.

Almeida's triple jump of 44 2 1/2 took fourth at the New England Division III Championships. Almeida's finish, coupled with junior Jeff Reed's (Westport, MA) 10th place in the 10,000 meters (34:37.97), gave Coach John Hird's Corsairs a 20th place finish in a field of 24 Division III teams from across the New England region.

Almeida and Reed were among a group of Corsairs who helped UMass Dartmouth to a fifth-place finish at the New England Alliance Championships and a third-place finish in the first Little East Conference Championships. The New England Alliance Championships feature teams from the Little East Conference and the Massachusetts State College Athletic Conference, competing together in one event. The 2000 Alliance Championship Meet marked the first time that LEC champions were crowned during the competition.

UMass Dartmouth had two second-place finishes at the Alliance Championships, four thirds and an LEC champion in the 800 meters. With a combined team score of 58 points, UMass Dartmouth finished fifth in the Alliance Championships and placed third in the LEC Championships with 108 points.

Senior Pat Gallagher (Fairhaven, MA) finished third in the Alliance's 800 meters, but his season's best time of 2:00.43 earned him an LEC championship. Second-place finishes at the Alliance Championships went to Almeida in the triple jump (42' 4 1/2) and senior Ethan Wrenn (Gloucester, MA) with a seasonal best time of :15.66 in the 110 meter hurdles. Third-place finishes were turned in by sophomore Tim Garcia (Fairhaven, MA) in the long jump (20 6 1/2), Reed in the 10,000 meters, and sophomore Mark Kulakowski (Peabody, MA) with a seasonal best in the javelin (161-3).

Other All-New England Alliance efforts came from sophomore Bruce Warren (Framingham, MA) in the discus (seasonal best ,120-11, 5th), junior Brendan McEvoy (Newburyport, MA) in the pole vault (seasonal best, 10-6) and sophomore Kent Oldmixon (Mansfield, MA) in the hammer (131-11, 5th).