Whalen, Sanderson Lead Men's Track at NEC Championships

Senior Matthew Whalen and junior Ry Sanderson placed second in their respective events for Central Connecticut as the Blue Devils placed fifth at the Northeast Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships. It was the best finish for CCSU since the team took fifth back in 2001. Whalen put forth his silver medal performance in the 1,500 meters, crossing the line in 4:03.82. Sanderson, after finishing second in the 10,000 on Saturday, took second in the 5,000 meter run on Sunday, recording a time of 15:04.54.

Freshmen Jeremy Schmid and Sam Alexander also scored points for the Blue Devils in the 1,500 and 5,000. Schmid placed fifth in the 1,500 meters with a time of 4:05.40, while Alexander was seventh in the 5,000 meter run, crossing the line in 15:26.45.

Senior Sean Smith and freshman Matt Berube were the only other Blue Devils to place individually on Sunday. Smith recorded a sixth place finish in the 400 meters, crossing the line in 49.60 seconds. Berube was fifth in the triple jump, recording a distance of 14.04 meters.

Both CCSU relay teams in competition today scored points in the meet. The 4x100 team of Tom Hylan, Smith, Brian Lowe and Tristan Roberts placed sixth in a time of 43.40 seconds. Shawn Buchanan, Dionis White, Smith and Hylan comprised the Central Connecticut 4x400 meter relay team that took seventh. They recorded a time of 3:24.13 in the event.

Sophomore Robert Weston and freshman Anthony Gonsalves just missed placing in the 3,000 meter steeplechase. They finished ninth and tenth, recording times of 10:04.00 and 10:11.98, respectively.

During day one of competition Sanderson and Alexander took second and fourth in the 10,000 meter run. The former finished in 31:36.20, while the latter recorded a time of 32:02.94. Berube and Nick Trifone also scored points for CCSU on Saturday. Berube placed third in both the long and high jump events and Trifone edged him out for second in the high jump. Trifone recorded a height of 1.92 meters, while Berube jumped 1.89 meters in the high and 6.93 meters in the long. The Blue Devil 4x800 meter relay team took fourth place during day one of competition.

Central Connecticut finished with 71.50 total points, while Monmouth won the meet with 232 points. St. Francis (PA) was the runner-up with 127 points and defending champion Sacred Heart took the bronze, recording 99 team points.