BIDDEFORD, Maine – Michael Balestra of the Suffolk men's outdoor track & field team captured Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Field Athlete of the Week for the second time in as many weeks thanks to his effort at the Penmen Relays Saturday, the league office announced.
Balestra, a senior captain from Lincoln, Rhode Island, picked up another first-place finish in the hammer throw as he earned the top spot at Southern New Hampshire with a 50.26-meter heave to best the 22-competitor field and place him fourth on the NCAA Division III East Region Outdoor Performance List.
The weekly accolade marks Balestra's second of the season and second in as many weeks. Suffolk has taken home a weekly nod in each week the league has handed them out. Over four weeks, the Rams have earned nine awards. Balestra owns two along with Matyas Csiki-Fejer, who has been named the conference's track athlete of the week twice. Tim Barry, Thomas Novy and Carter Nevulis all captured best track rookie of the week once, while Edward Abouzeid earned field rookie of the week status April 4. The blue-and-gold's 4x400 relay team of Selvin Backert, Robert Solari, Joshua Durand and Cole Bolduc combined to be the CCC's first relay team of the week March 29.
Suffolk will be back in action this Saturday, April 23 at MIT's Sean Collier Invitational.