HW
Hugh Whelan
  • computer science
  • Class of 2017
  • Madison, CT

Hugh Whelan of Madison, CT, Earns Track and Field All-New England Accolades

2017 May 9

Hugh Whelan earned All-New England accolades at the Division III New England Track & Field Championships.

The 4x100-meter relay set a school record while the 4x800 and two individuals earned silver to highlight Men's Track & Field's eight-place performance at the 2017 NCAA Division III New England Championships at Williams.

The 14th-ranked team in the region prior to the weekend, WPI (40.5 points) bested No. 5 Middlebury, No. 8 Colby, No. 10 UMass Dartmouth, No. 11 Brandeis, No. 12 Coast Guard and No. 13 Springfield. No. 3 MIT secured the title as nationally-ranked No. 11 Tufts was second, regional No. 4 Bates was third and national No. 18 Williams was fourth. Regional No. 9 Southern Maine, No. 7 Worcester State and No.6 Bowdoin occupied fifth through seventh.

Senior Hugh Whelan, freshman Alex Rus, freshman Nick Fleury and senior Brian D'Amore posted a WPI-best 42 flat to place fourth in the 4x100. The 4x800 of sophomore Ryan Wittenberg, junior Warren Staver, freshman Tom Hanlon and senior Austin Scott were not that far off of a record with a runner up 7:42.20. Junior David Frederick competed in the two-day decathlon where he placed second, highlighted by wins in the last three events (pole vault - 14-11, javelin - 171-11, 1,500-meter run - 4:49.01), for a sum of 5,873.

Staver was also the runner up in the 400-meter dash with a time of 48.74. He was followed by Rus in seventh (49.08). Junior Brandon Hoghaug took home bronze in the high jump with a PR of 6-7, which not only earned entry into next week's NEICAAA Championships - it stands at No. 16 on the performance list. Freshman Fabian Gaziano was seventh (15.70) in the 110-meter hurdles prelims and improved his position and time with a sixth-place 15.39 in the finals. Junior Aaron Weeks launched the javelin 185-9 in an eighth-place showing.

Eligible student-athletes head back to Williams this weekend for the NEICAAA or All-New England All-Dvisions Championships.

About Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Founded in 1865 in Worcester, Mass., WPI is one of the nation's first engineering and technology universities. Its 14 academic departments offer more than 50 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in science, engineering, technology, business, the social sciences, and the humanities and arts, leading to bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees. WPI's talented faculty work with students on interdisciplinary research that seeks solutions to important and socially relevant problems in fields as diverse as the life sciences and bioengineering, energy, information security, materials processing, and robotics. Students also have the opportunity to make a difference to communities and organizations around the world through the university's innovative Global Projects Program. There are more than 40 WPI project centers throughout the Americas, Africa, Asia-Pacific, and Europe.