University of Maine
Men''s Valentines Invitational
Maine Men's Track and Field Competes at Valentine Invite; Defeats New Hampshire at Home
2/14/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Track and Field
ORONO, Maine – The University of Maine track and field team had members compete at the Valentine Invite hosted by Boston University but the majority of the team defeated UNH in a dual meet hosted at the New Balance Indoor Track and Field House on Saturday afternoon. The Black Bears squeaked out a victory against the Wildcats by a final score of 76.50-73.50.
At the Valentine invite Maine had competitors in four events. Joseph Viola competed in a pair of events running in 400m and the 200m. In the 400m, Viola clocked in at 48.79 seconds for a 31st place finish. He finished the 200m with a time of 22.51 seconds.
Scott Merill had the highest placed finish of the day as he came in 23rd overall in a crowded field with a time of 1:05.51 in the 500m.
Levi Frye tallied a PR in the mile as he finished the event in 4:15.46 and an 83rd place finish.
Maine had a number of first place finishes at home against the Wildcats that contributed to the first place team win.
James Rutter excelled in the pole vault as he led a trio of Black Bears to the top-three spots in the event. Rutter recorded a final jump of 4.12m (13-06.25) while Alecsander Wortman (3.97m) and Matthew York (3.97) finished second and third, respectively.
Herby Lafortune and York took first and second, respectively in the long jump. Lafortune recorded a event-best mark of 6.54m (21-05.50) while York placed just behind, with a mark of 6.19m (20-03.75).
Tyler Martin recorded yet another first-place finish in the high jump coming in with a mark of 1.94m (6-04.25). Connor Harris placed second with a mark of 1.84m (6-00.50).
Harris continued Maine's dominance in the jump events as he came in with a first-place finish with a mark of 13.07m (42-10.75), while Lafortune (12.99m/42-07.50) came in second.
Rutter also got some work in, in the track events as he reeled in a first-place finish in the 60m hurdles, as he came in with a time of 8.53 seconds. Andrew Toothaker placed second in the event with a mark of 8.77 seconds, while Elijah Yeboah (9.02 seconds) and Matthew York (9.14 seconds) came in fifth and sixth.
Maine had a trio compete in the 60m dash as Ryan Jaimson (7.42 seconds), Andrew Toothaker (7.44 seconds) and Joseph Slattery (7.56 seconds) placed first through third.
In the 200m, Toothaker and Jamison paired up for a first and second place finish, respectively. Toothaker clocked in with a time of 23.42 seconds while Jamison finished with a time of 23.51 seconds. Issac Yeboah came in third in the event with a time of 23.85 seconds.
Maine now gets ready to compete at the conference championship, held in New York City on Feb. 20-21.
