FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                May 14, 2005

UMass Dartmouth’s Bruce Zapasnik finishes second
in the javelin at 2005 Open New England Track Championships

(Dartmouth, MA) – UMass Dartmouth senior Bruce Zapasnik (Rehoboth, MA) finished second in the javelin and sophomore Jon Garcia (Stoneham, MA) place fourth in the 110 meter hurdles as the UMass Dartmouth men’s team placed 16^th overall at the 2005 All-New England Championships held May 13-14 at the University of New Hampshire.  The All-New England Championships includes athletes from NCAA Division I, II and III institutions competing against each other in one championship event.

Zapasnik continued an outstanding spring season in the javelin with a second-place throw of 196-03 to earn eight points for Coach Jon Hird’s men’s track and field team. 

After qualifying on Friday with a seventh place finish in the 110 meter hurdles with a time of 14.88, Garcia moved up to fourth overall in Saturday’s championship final with a time of :15.11 to pick up an addition five points for the UMass Dartmouth men.  UMass Dartmouth finshed 16^th in the men’s team competition from a field of 36 teams

UMass Dartmouth senior Kelly Fitts (Fairhaven, MA) had the best finish for the Corsair women’s team, finishing seventh in the javelin with a throw of 126-04 for a pair of points.  Sophomore Rachel Smith (Somerset, MA) competed in a pair of events but did not score any points for the Corsairs.  Smith finished 11^th in the qualifying round for the 100 meter hurdles in :15.75 and had a 17^th place finish in the 400 meter hurdle qualifying round with a time of 1:09.05. UMass Dartmouth placed 32^nd in the 34-team field.

Zapasnik and Garcia have been on a roll of late as Zapasnik was the ECAC and Little East Conference Field Athlete of the Week this week, while Garcia was the LEC Track Athlete of the Week.  Last Saturday, Zapasnik placed first in the javelin at the Division III New England Championships.  He took first with a throw of 201-6’, which was a full 13 feet further than the second-place finisher. This is the second consecutive year that Zapasnik has taken the javelin event at the New England Division III championships.  He is ranked fourth in the country within NCAA Div. III.

Zapasnik has been on a roll during the spring season, finishing first in the javelin at the Little East Conference Championships held at UMass Dartmouth last month. Zapasnik took first at the LEC Championships with a throw of 191-01. His throw also earned him first place in the New England Alliance as well.

Garcia’s award from the LEC was his second time in as many weeks and his third honor this spring.  He was honored this week for placing first in the 110-meter hurdles at the Division III New England Championships last Saturday.  He took first with a time of :14.67 which improves on his current NCAA provisional mark by .13 seconds. He is currently ranked12th nationally in the event.  Already this season, Garcia has a pair of Little East Conference and New England Alliance championships to his credit, having won the 110-meter hurdles in :14.8 along with the LEC 200 meters in :22.68 at the New England Alliance meet held at UMass Dartmouth in April.

Fitts finished second in the Division III New Englands last Saturday with a throw of 127-07.  Her throw of 136-10 on April 23 at the Connecticut College Invitational has her ranked 8^th nationally in the event.  At the New England Alliance and LEC Championships, Fitts placed second in the NE Alliance and the LEC with a throw of 131-00.

At the Division III New Englands last week, Smith finished fifth in both the 100 meter hurdles and 400 meter hurdles.  In the 100 meter hurdles, Smith posted a time of :15.80 which also qualified her for the ECAC Track and Field Championships to be held May 19-20 at Springfield College.  Smith’s fifth place time in the 400 meter hurdles was 1:08.14.At the New England Alliance and Little East Championships held in late April at UMass Dartmouth, Smith was second in the both the NE Alliance and the LEC in the100 meter (:15.8) and 400 meter hurdles (1:08.14).

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