Men's Track in 3rd After Day One at NECs

The Central Connecticut men's track and field team completed day one of the Northeast Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships in third place on Saturday at Monmouth. The Blue Devils posted 24 points on the day including 18 in the 10,000 meter race alone.

Sophomore Andrew Hill placed second in the 10,000m, earning eight points for Central with his time of 32:13.55. He was followed by senior John Krell who crossed the finish line third in 32:14.71 for six points. Redshirt freshman Matt Walker also earned points in the race taking fifth place with his time of 32:20.47.

The other six points came from the 4x800 meter relay team consisting of senior Mike Waterbury, sophomore Brian Biekert and freshmen Malcolm Connor and Joseph Gioielli. They crossed the finish line in 7:40.70 for third place, surpassing the IC4A qualifying standard of 7:43.00.

Waterbury and Gioielli also qualified for the finals in 800m run in which they each placed second in their heats with times of 1:53.45 and 1:55.13, respectively.

Senior Aaron Radden boasted an impressive performance in the preliminaries as he finished atop both the 100m and the 200m dash fields to qualify for tomorrow's finals. Radden earned a season-best time of 10.60 in the 100m, qualifying for IC4A competition. He also qualified for IC4A's in the 200m in which he crossed the finish line in 21.46.

Radden was followed by freshman Kendall Walker in both events. He tied his personal-best time of 11.10 in the 100m and achieved a new personal record in the 200m, crossing the line in 22.64.

Senior Nick Lindblom also qualified for two finals appearances tomorrow. He finished first in his heat, second overall in the 400m hurdles with a time of 53.70 and finished third in his heat in the 110m hurdles. Lindblom surpassed the IC4A qualifying standard of 53.84 in the 400m hurdles.

In the 400m hurdles, Lindblom was followed by junior Ryan Budd who also qualified for tomorrow's finals with his time of 55.00.

In the 110m hurdles, sophomore Jordan Watkins placed fourth overall to earn a chance to compete tomorrow. He finished second in his heat, crossing the finish line in 15.09. Watkins also earned a new personal record in the 400m hurdles with his time of 56.75.

Sophomore Jamal Fruster topped the 400m dash field, qualifying for the finals with his time of 48.87.

After day one of the NEC's and five events scored, Monmouth is ranked first with 49 points. Monmouth is followed by Robert Morris in second (34). LIU Brooklyn is in fourth with 21 points and Sacred Heart rounds out the top five with 20.

The Blue Devils will return to action for the conclusion of the NEC Outdoor Championships tomorrow, Sunday, May 5, in West Long Branch, NJ. Fans can follow the action live and view today's results by clicking HERE. CCSU fans can also follow live updates on Twitter: visit @CCSUTrack for the most up-to-date information and for overall results on twitter check @NECTrack.