UMass Dartmouth track and field teams produce three top three finishes at New England and ECAC meets

(Dartmouth, MA) -- The Spring 2001 men's and women's track and field season produced one provisional qualification for the NCAA Division III championships and three third place finishes at the annual ECAC Division III Championship meet.

With a third-place finish in the triple jump at the New England Championships held May 12 at the University of Connecticut, senior Dan Almeida (S. Attleboro, MA) earned a provisional qualification to the NCAA Division III national meet. Almeida leaped 46-6 in the triple jump for his third-place finish against a field of athletes from Division I, II and III schools from throughout New England. A week earlier, at the New England Division III Track and Field Championships held in New London, Ct, Almeida placed fifth overall with a jump of 45-8.

At the ECAC Division III Championships held at Springfield College on May 18, Almeida placed third in the triple jump with a leap of 45-11 3/4. Although his jump was not enough to earn a national championship invitation, it capped an outstanding season for Almeida.

Also earning third place finishes at the ECAC Division III Championships were sophomore Corey Bachand (Norton, MA) and senior Jackie Gorski (Warwick, RI).

Bachand completed his season at the ECAC meet with a time of 9:48.26 for third in the steeplechase. At the New England Division III championships held May 5 at New London, CT, Bachand earned a fifth place finish in the steeplechase with a time of 9:46.

Gorski completed an outstanding four-year career for the Corsairs by crossing the 5000 meters finish line in 18:49.53, a personal best time in the event, good for a third place finish among the top ECAC Division III runners in New England.

Earlier in the season, UMass Dartmouth's men's and women's track and field teams brought home a pair of seventh-place finishes at the annual Alliance Championships held April 28 at Westfield State College. The Alliance Championships pits the Little East Conference and the Massachusetts State College Athletic Conference together in one championship event.

For the Corsair women, Gorski took home first place in the 10,000 meters, while senior Shelly Kenyon (Fall River, MA) placed second in the 1,500 meter run and first-year runner Carolyn Conroy (Westport, MA) finished second in the 3,000 meters. Gorski took first in the 10,000 meters with a meet record time of 39:00.81. Kenyon crossed the finish line in 5:08.9 and Conroy took second in 11:28.03.

On the men's side, Almeida captured an Alliance Championship by leaping 13.33 meters (43-9) in the triple jump. Almeida also picked up a sixth in the long jump with a leap of 5.97 meters (19-7). Among the other top performers for UMass Dartmouth were senior Jeff Reed's (Westport, MA) second in the 10,000 meter run and a first-place finish among LEC runners. Bachand was third in 3,000 meter steeplechase (9:55.75) as was teammate freshman Bill McCormack (Stoughton, MA) in the discus with a throw of 135-2.