MIDDLEBURY, Vt. – Senior Jacob Rigoli (Essex, Vt.) and the Plymouth State University men's indoor track & field 4x800-meter relay team broke program records and both, along with junior Mike Olson (Sutton, Mass.), earned All-New England recognition for their performances at the NCAA Division III New England Regional Championship at Middlebury College on Saturday.
 
Rigoli started the day off strong for the Panthers as he demolished the field in the weight throw with a toss of 18.13 meters. His performance broke his own program record in the event set earlier this year.
 
The 4x800-meter relay team of Olson, juniors Colin Moar (Annandale, Va.) and Brent Coope (Wolfeboro, N.H.) and sophomore Ryan Moyer (Dover, N.H.) punched in a top-five finish with a time of 8:04.81 to take home All-New England honors and reach a new program record by two seconds. The team also beat its previous season best by 11 seconds.
 
Olson placed sixth in the 800-meter run to capture the regional honor.
 
Plymouth State ended the day with a total of 17 points to tie for 13th overall out of a field of 25 scoring teams from the New England region.
 
The Basics:

• NCAA Division III New England Regional Championship – T-13th

How it Happened:

• Rigoli jumpstarted the day with a regional title after a season-best and program record-breaking throw of 18.13 meters.
• Senior Terrell Lewis (New Boston, N.H.) and freshman Pat D'Entremont (Seabrook, N.H.) competed in the 60-meter hurdles with Lewis advancing into the finals with the second-fastest preliminary time and D'Entremont finishing in 9.27 seconds.
• Olson started his big day with a sixth-place finish in the 800-meter run with a time of 1:55.32, close to his own program record of 1:55.16 he set earlier in the season. Olson earned his first All-New England honor for his performance.
• Junior Luke Gomes (Litchfield, N.H.) represented the Panthers in the 1000-meter run where he posted a time of 2:49.10.
• The 4x800-meter relay team capped off the day on a high note with a fifth-place finish in a total time of 8:04.81 to break the program record and take home another All-New England nod.

Straight from the Coach's Mouth:

• "Jacob winning a New England title is such a terrific accomplishment for him and coach [Will] Tifft. I'm proud of them," said head coach John Ostler. "Jacob has big goals for the rest of the season but an achievement like this has to be admired for a moment before he gets back to work. The middle distance is, in many ways, the engine of our team. It was fitting for Mike and the 4x800 to close out their indoor season with such emphatic performances. That 4x800 relay took down some very strong schools who are traditional middle distance power houses and broke a legit school record. My hat is off to those four."

 
Up Next:

• Select athletes will have one final chance in their quest to lock up a spot at the NCAA Division III National Championships when they compete at the Tufts National Qualifying Meet next Saturday (Mar. 5).