Nixon, Garifalos, and Cooley Compete at DIII New England Championships

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (5/7/16) - Sophomores Josh Nixon (Bloomfield, Conn.), and Nick Garifalos (Spotswood, N.J.), and senior Melissa Cooley (Huntington Beach, Calif.) competed individually for the Lasers this past Saturday at the Division III New England Championship meet hosted by Springfield College.

Nixon competed in the long jump on Friday and placed 18th in the region at 6.04m.  Garifalos, who ran the 800m on Saturday, posted 1:57.41 performance which placed him 22nd in the region.  Cooley competed in the 400 meter dash where she set a personal best one last time.  Her time of 59.98 is an outdoor personal best and a new school record.  Cooley will be graduating in May holding an astounding nine school records including relays. 

Joining the three individuals at the meet was the 4x400 men and women relay teams. The women's team featured junior Ayumi Ranucci (Auburn, Maine), sophomore Lauren Lenahan (Weymouth, Mass.), seniors Cooley and Jaime Russo (Watertown, Mass.).  The squad hit a 4:13.47 good for a new school record by seven seconds. 

On the men's side, the team featured freshmen Ben Lane (Rutland, Vt.), Kyle Vonick (Wethersfield, Conn.) Garifalos, and Nixon.  The team ran a time of 3:32.42, also good for a school record by nine seconds.