COURTESY PHOTO FROM TUFTS ATHLETICS
Drew DiMaiti, a St. Mary’s alum, is having a big season for the Tufts men’s track team as a junior.
By KATIE MORRISON
The spring season has been a good one for the Tufts University men’s track team. The Jumbos opened up the outdoor season with a first-place finish (of nine teams) at the Point Loma Nazarene Invitational in San Diego, Calif. back in March, and followed that up with another first-place finish, this time topping 17 other teams, at the Snowflake Classic at Tufts. Since then, the Jumbos logged another first-place finish, this time at the Sunshine Classic on April 15.
Medford native and St. Mary’s alum Drew DiMaiti, a junior on the indoor and outdoor track teams, has not only helped his team to some big wins over the past month, but has jumped onto the national radar in his events.
The season started with a bang for the former Spartan, as he posted the fourth-best time in Division 3 in the 400-meter hurdles (53.74 seconds), topping the second-place finisher by 3.5 seconds.
“It was a very exciting start to the season,” DiMaiti said, not only of his impressive time, but also the first-place finish for his team. “I had a pretty good indoor season, it set me up well to perform in the first couple of outdoor meets.”
DiMaiti was named the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) Men’s Track Performer of the Week on April 3, after he posted a personal-best time of 48.54 seconds in the 400-meter dash at the Snowflake Classic.
That time stands as the best in the conference, though DiMaiti shares the top spot with Middlebury’s Jimmy Martinez, who ran a 48.54 at the PLNU Invitational.
But things have gotten even better for DiMaiti as the season continues. He topped his performance in the PLNU Invitational on April 15 as Tufts hosted the Sunshine Classic. DiMaiti improved on his career-best mark (53.01), running a 52.47 to sail to a first-place finish.
Prior to the race, DiMaiti talked about the importance of breaking the 53-second mark.
“I usually run in the 53s, which is pretty fast,” DiMaiti said, “but to be the top, you have to beat 53 seconds. Hopefully as I increase speed in the 400, I’ll get faster in the hurdles as well.”
He did just that, and now ranks third in all of Division 3 in the 400 hurdles, with only St. John Fisher’s Peter Girardi (51.84) and Eastern Mennonite’s Connor Faint (52.33) ranking above the Tufts junior.
While DiMaiti is undoubtedly pleased with his individual performances, he’s just as excited about the season his team has had so far.
“We’ve been pretty dominant in the meets we’ve had, we have a very deep team with a lot of talent in sprints and distance races,” DiMaiti said. “Our main focus all season is the upcoming NESCAC championship meet,” which is coming up this Saturday at Bowdoin College.
While the NESCAC meet is the first thing on DiMaiti’s radar, after that comes the New England DIII Championships, starting on Friday, May 5. Then there’s the All-New Englands, and finally, the NCAA Championships in Geneva, Ohio at the end of May.
“The number one goal as a team is to win the NESCAC,” said DiMaiti, “but past that, I’d like to perform well at the New England championships. After that, hopefully I’ll place at Nationals.”
DiMaiti is not a stranger to the national stage; he’s gone to states twice already, in his freshman and sophomore years. When he was a freshman, he went on a relay team that placed. But last year, he went on his own, and that was a totally different experience.
“It was more of a learning experience,” DiMaiti said of his second time going to states. “I went down by myself for the 400 hurdles, and it was great to see what it was like.”
Having that experience under his belt should be a massive help as he gears up for another run this season.
“This year I’ll be more confident and comfortable,” DiMaiti said. “I think that’s huge, I’m happy I was able to get that down my sophomore year and I can use that experience.”
Names and notes
— Michaela Hamill, a Lynn native and St. Mary’s grad, has become a big part of the Endicott softball team’s pitching staff. Hamill tossed seven innings of shutout ball Monday, allowing just four hits and walking two as the Gulls rolled to a 4-0 win. The freshman is 8-1 for Endicott and has posted a 2.74 ERA in 17 games (69 innings).
Hamill has posted four shutouts, which is tied for the conference lead.
— Marblehead’s Allie Forman, goalie for the Bridgewater State women’s lacrosse team, set a new school record for saves in a 13-3 loss to Plymouth State on April 5, as her mark of 522 breaks the mark previously held by Jo-Ellen Murgo, who set the record in 2000. Forman’s 107 saves are good for fourth place in the MASCAC. Forman most recently made seven saves in a win over Fitchburg State Saturday.
— English grad and Salem State softball infielder Samantha Holey went 2-for-3 with a run scored, RBI and walk in the first game of the Vikings’ doubleheader against Worcester State Saturday, and went 2-for-4 with two RBI in the second game. Fenwick alum Jen Crovo went 1-for-5 with a run scored in game one and 2-for-4 with two RBI, a run scored and a walk in game two. Holey has started in 24 games for Salem State, hitting .289 with 21 RBI, while Crovo is hitting .393, leading the team with 33 runs scored.
— Revere’s Lindsay Gurska earned the NEWMAC Softball Player of the Week accolades for her performance last week. Gurska, a senior, went 11-for-22 with two home runs, a double, a walk, a stolen base, seven RBI and four runs scored as the WPI softball team went 7-1.
— Lynn Tech alum Justin Lewis won the high jump for the Worcester State men’s outdoor track team Monday at Holy Cross with a jump of 2.7 meters. His teammate, Peabody’s Marcus Vieira, placed third in the hammer throw (52.10 meters), while Peabody’s Phill Bynum finished third in the 100-meter dash (11.23 seconds).
— Peabody’s Courtney Smith scored seven goals in a big 14-13, triple-overtime win over Emmanuel for the Salem State women’s lacrosse team Thursday. Swampscott’s Bridget Lawless (1 goal, 2 assists) sent the game into overtime with a game-tying goal with 14 seconds left in regulation. Smith leads the Vikings in goals (30) and assists (10), while Lawless has logged 10 goals and eight assists.
— Saugus’ Michael Trifone, a freshman on the Salem State men’s lacrosse team, scored two goals in the Vikings’ loss to Eastern Connecticut Saturday. Trifone has 14 points (8 goals, 6 assists) for the Vikings over 12 games, while his brother, freshman Max Trifone, has scored eight goals and logged three assists for Salem State.
— Winthrop natives and brothers Luke and Noah Hodgkins earned a victory at second doubles in the Salem State men’s tennis team’s win over Western Connecticut Sunday, winning 8-4.
— Fenwick alum and Nahant native JP Reiling took the loss on the mound for the Salem State baseball team last Thursday, but has logged one win in his rookie season for the Vikings, posting a 4.35 ERA in 20 2/3 innings, mainly as a reliever. His teammate and Lynn native Joe Kasper went 1-for-3 with a run scored and a walk in the loss. Kasper is hitting .350 with 16 RBI in 30 games this season.
— Endicott golfer Athan Goulos, of Peabody, led the Gulls at the Johnson & Wales University Wildcat Invitational Saturday with a two-day score of 157 (80, 77) for 13th place overall.
