Gorham, Maine (February 1) -- Led by school-record performances by senior Tony Fierimonte (Northborough, Mass./Algonquin Regional) and freshman Alex Cerbo (Cranston, R.I./Bishop Hendricken), the Assumption College men's indoor track and field team captured the University of Southern Maine Invitational on Saturday afternoon. The Hounds finished with 157.50 points in the meet, defeating the hosts by a 10.50-point margin.
Fierimonte captured the mile in a time of 4:15.95, winning the event by nearly 23 seconds and smashing his own school record by almost an eight-second margin. In the weight throw, Cerbo placed second overall with a throw of 50 feet, 0.75 inches as she shattered the school mark by over two feet. Cerbo also added a victory in the shot put as well, throwing 47 feet, 2.5 inches to capture the event. Fierimonte also added a second victory as well as he won the 3,000 meters in a time of 8:40.64 to narrowly miss breaking his own school record.
Other event winners included junior Alex Smith (Ellington, Conn./Ellington) in the 5,000 meters and junior Kevon Lumsden (Englewood, N.J./Dwight Morrow) in the 55 meters to help pace the overall team victory. Smith captured the 5K by a convincing 27-second margin, crossing in a time of 16:17.31, while Lumsden picked up the victory with a time of 6.58 seconds. Freshman Dan Heston (Scituate, Mass./Scituate) finished fifth in the 5,000 in 17:28.77, while sophomore Darnell Butler (Hudson, Mass./Hudson) placed fifth in the 55 meters in a time of 6.79 seconds. Butler and Lumsden each finished among the top five in the 200 meters as well, led by a second-place showing from Butler in a time of 23.45 seconds. Lumsden finished fourth in the event, crossing in 23.73 seconds. Freshman Derek Field (Franklin, Mass./Franklin) nearly picked up a school record in the 400 meters with a runner-up time of 52.08 to miss the Assumption mark by just .1 seconds.
Other top-five individual finishes on the track included a fourth-place finish from freshman Andrew Churchill (Hubbardston, Mass./Quabbin Regional) in the 55-meter hurdles in 8.86, as well as a third-place showing in the mile by freshman Ian Flanagan (North Attleboro, Mass./North Attleboro) and fourth place in the 1,000 meters by freshman Jonathan Geromini (Franklin, Mass./Franklin). Flanagan finished in a time of 4:39 in the mile, while Geromini crossed in the 1,000 with a final time of 2:53.45.
In the field events, the Hounds dominated the weight throw and shot put and also picked up a top-five finish in the long jump. In the weight throw, sophomore Tim Jensen (Manchester, Conn./East Catholic) finished third with a throw of 39 feet. 3.75 inches, followed by junior Nathan Smith (Piermont, N.H./St. Johnsbury Academy) in fifth place with a toss of 37 feet, 10.75 inches. In the shot, freshman Jason Rice (North Andover, Mass./North Andover) placed third with a throw of 40 feet, 10.25 inches, along with a fourth-place showing by Smith at 39 feet, 0.25 inches. Senior Darius Daniels (Clearwater, Fla./Tarpon) earned a fifth-place finish in the long jump as he posted a leap of 20 feet, 6.25 inches.
In the relays, the Hounds were led by a runner-up finish in the distance medley as the team of Flanagan, junior Michael Hoye (Sutton, Mass./Holy Name), Geromini and Field finished in 11:52.15. Assumption placed fourth in the 4x400 relay also, with the team of Churchill, freshman Evan Edgar (Avon, Conn./Avon), senior Kyler Huffert (Woodstock, Vt./Woodstock Union) and Fierimonte crossing in 3:48.98.
Assumption is back in action on Saturday, February 7th as the Hounds travel to the Dartmouth Classic in Hanover, N.H. for a Noon start.
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