Men's Track & Field 14th in NYC

The Central Connecticut men's track and field team placed 14th of 24 teams at the Great Dane Classic in New York, NY on Friday. Central was led by sophomore Brian Biekert who placed third - the highest of any Blue Devil on the day - in the one mile run, crossing the finish line in 4:12.54.

Freshman Joseph Gioielli turned in an impressive performance for the Blue Devils qualifying for his first IC4A competition in the 1,000 meter run with a time of 2:28.89. He crossed the line in fourth place, coming in just over three seconds behind third place Villanova. Gioielli was the highest placing freshman in the field of 26 competitors.

Central earned nine top-10 performances at the Great Dane Classic including the seventh-place finish of junior Colby Delbene in the one mile run. Delbene finished just over two seconds behind Biekert with a time of 4:14.99. Also taking seventh was reigning NEC Individual Champion in the 200m, Aaron Radden. The senior finished ahead of 48 competitors in the event with a time of 21.92, surpassing the IC4A qualifying mark of 22.24. Radden also holds the meet record in the 200m (20.41) which he set last season.

Freshmen in the top-10 scene for Central included Jamie Tobias, who tied his collegiate career-best of 1.94 meters in the high jump for a seventh-place tie, and Matt Walker, who placed 10th in the 5,000 meter run with a time of 15:17.00.

CCSU also racked up a trio of ninth-place finishes in Radden, junior Nick Lindblom and senior John Krell. Radden took ninth in the 60 meter dash with a time of 6.95 seconds, surpassing the IC4A qualifying mark (6.98). Lindblom finished the 60 meter hurdles event with a time of 8.43, just .02 seconds shy of his collegiate career best time, and Krell crossed the 3,000 meter finish line in 8:43.06.

Other key performers for the Blue Devils included sophomore Jordan Watkins, who placed 12th in the 60m hurdles (8.55); freshman Malcolm Connor, who also placed 12th in the 800 meter run (1:56.89) and sophomore Jamal Fruster, who placed 14th out of 47 in the 400 meter dash. Fruster crossed the finish line in 49.94.

The University of Connecticut placed first at the Great Dane Classic, earning 126.50 team points. The Huskies were followed by Albany (82) and Villanova (71). George Mason (69.5) and NEC foe LIU Brooklyn (42) rounded out the top five.

For complete meet results, click here.

The Blue Devils will return to competition this Saturday, January 26, at the Boston University Terrier Invitational in Boston, MA.