DARTMOUTH, Mass. – Senior Mike Olson (Sutton, Mass.) led Plymouth State University to a fourth-place team finish with a pair of victories at the Little East Conference (LEC) Men's Outdoor Track & Field Championships at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth on Saturday.
 
Olson started with a destructive win in the 800-meter run where he topped the field by about four seconds in 1:54.66, his third win where he beat the next best finisher by at least four seconds.
 
Olson joined classmates Colin Moar (Annandale, Va.) and Luke Gomes (Litchfield, N.H.) and junior Ryan Moyer (Dover, N.H.) in the 4x800-meter relay with a phenomenal performance of 8:01.88 to blow out the rest of the field by about 20 seconds.
 
Additional feats were made by senior Jacob Rigoli (Essex, Vt.) when he crushed his previous program record in the hammer throw with a monstrous throw of 57.85 meters to win the event by over five meters.
 
The meet was likely the last for seniors Nick Beal (Seabrook, N.H.), Owen Billin (Meredith, N.H.), Brent Coope (Wolfeboro, N.H.), Ian Griffiths (Bedford, Mass.), Justin Shokal (Alexandria, N.H.), Patrick Williston (Redding, Conn.), Gomes, Moar and Olson.
 
Plymouth State finished fourth in the eight-team meet.
   
The Basics:

• LEC Championship – 4th of 8 Teams
  • UMass Dartmouth (179), Eastern Connecticut (158), Southern Maine (93), Plymouth State (75), Keene State (54), Castleton (43), Rhode Island College (40), UMass Boston (9)

 
How it Happened:

• Sophomore Jacob Gallaher (Gambrills, Md.) sparked the momentum for the Panthers early with a dominant win in the 10,000-meter run with a time of 32:35.31.
• Freshman Luke Cloutier (Limerick, Maine) took fifth in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a huge personal best time of 10:51.15.
• Senior Michael Barrett (Hartford, Conn.) scored fourth in the 1,500-meter run in a personal best time of 4:08.13.
• The duo of sophomore Christian Oglesby (Penacook, N.H.) and freshman Josh Rebello (North Dighton, Mass.) snagged fourth and fifth in the 400-meter dash with times of 52.00 and 52.30 seconds, respectively.
• The trio of Olson, Moar and Moyer all scored in the top-five of the 800-meters, with Olson claiming victory in 1:54.66 and Moar and Moyer placing third and fifth with times of 1:59.51 and 2:01.72.
• Barrett also competed in the 5,000-meter run with a fifth place showing in 15:48.72, while freshman Dan Daschbach-Eaton (Exeter, N.H.) also took sixth with a time of 15:56.23.
• The 4x100-meter relay squad of Shokal, Griffiths, freshman Zach Hodge (Springfield, N.H.) and junior Brandon Vachon (Ayer, Mass.) finished fifth overall, crossing the line in 44.93 seconds.
• The foursome of Olson, Moar, Moyer and Gomes won the 4x800-meter relay by over 20 seconds in a time of 8:01.88.
• The squad of Coope, Oglesby, Hodge and Rebello came together for a fourth-place finish in the 4x400-meter relay in a time of 3:30.57.
• Rigoli had a fantastic day in the throwing events after a big win in the hammer throw with a heave of 57.85 meters, shattering his previous record. He added a third-place finish in discus with a toss of 41.48 meters.

 
Up Next:

• A select number of athletes will continue to the NCAA Division III New England Championships beginning Friday (May 5) at Springfield College.