Men's Track & Field Finishes 4th at NECs
Senior Aaron Radden was named Men's Track Performer of the Meet.
The Central Connecticut men's track and field team wrapped up the 2013 Northeast Conference Championships with its fifth-consecutive top-five finish, placing fourth on Sunday in West Long Branch, NJ. Two Blue Devils earned individual championships, sophomore Jamal Fruster and senior Aaron Radden. Radden also earned the Men's Track Performer of the Meet honor.
Radden claimed the gold in the 100 meter dash for the second time in his outdoor career. He crossed the finish line in 10.66 after qualifying for IC4A competition in the preliminaries with his time of 10.60. Radden also claimed the silver in the 200m dash, crossing the finish line in 21.47. He qualified for IC4As yesterday in the 200m as well and earned a total of 18 points, individually, for Central - the most of any Blue Devil.
Radden also helped the 4x100m relay team to an IC4A qualifying performance with its time of 42.09. The team consisting of Radden, Fruster and freshmen Chris Savvidou and Kendall Walker, placed seventh overall, earned an appearance at the IC4A Championships and added two points for Central.
Fruster took the gold in the 400m dash with his season-best time of 48.29. He earned 10 team points for Central and improved on his qualifying time just enough to surpass the IC4A qualifying mark of 48.50.
Fruster also helped the 4x400 meter relay team earn fourth place, earning five points for Central. The team, consisting of Fruster, junior Ryan Budd, senior Nick Lindblom and freshman Malcolm Connor, crossed the finish line in 3:17.50. With their impressive, season-best time, the team surpassed the IC4A qualifying mark of 3:17.60 in the event.
In the 800m run, the Blue Devils posted 11 points, earned by freshman Joseph Gioielli and senior Mike Waterbury. Gioielli claimed the bronze with his time of 1:54.69, and improved from his sixth-place qualifying performance of 1:55.13. Waterbury followed close behind in fourth, crossing the finish line in 1:54.93.
Senior Rashad Williams also earned a trip to the IC4As in the shot put registering a distance of 16.09 meters, surpassing the IC4A qualifying standard of 15.60. He placed sixth overall, earning three points for Central.
In the 5,000m run, sophomore Andrew Hill finished fourth in a deep field with his time of 15:03.38. He was followed by senior John Krell in ninth. Krell crossed the line in 15:18.38, just out of scoring position. A trio of underclassmen, Matt Walker, Tyler Raymond and Patrick Hubbell, also performed well placing 11th, 12th and 13th in the race, respectively.
Sophomore Jordan Watkins achieved a fifth-place performance in the 110m hurdles, earning four points and crossing the finish line in 15.14 seconds. He was followed by Lindblom in seventh (15.61) good for two points.
After qualifying for IC4A competition yesterday in the prelims, Lindblom placed sixth overall for three team points with his time of 54.61 in the 400m hurdles. On his heels was Budd who finished in 54.73 for seventh place and two team points.
In the high jump, sophomore Jamie Tobias cleared a height of 1.92 meters, good for seventh place, and was followed by Watkins who placed 10th (1.84m).
Monmouth earned its sixth-consecutive NEC Championship with 173 points. LIU Brooklyn followed in second with 131 points. Robert Morris preceded CCSU with 122 points, Central earned 91 and Sacred Heart capped off the top five with 70 points.
The Blue Devils return to the track for both the New England Outdoor Championships and the IC4A/ECAC Outdoor Championships from May 10-12.