Men's T&F Fourth at Yellow Jacket Invitational
The Blue Devils finished fourth at the 5th Annual Yellow Jacket Invitational on Saturday.
The Central Connecticut men's track and field team placed fourth out of 15 teams at the 5th Annual Yellow Jacket Invitational on Saturday in Springfield, MA. The Blue Devils compiled a team score of 78.5 points over 20 events in their first outdoor competition of the season to earn the result. The meet was held at the John G. Hoyt '52 Track & Field Complex on the campus of American International College.
YELLOW JACKET INVITATIONAL RESULTS
Sophomore Zach Andrews kicked off the scoring for CCSU and earned the silver medal out of 36 competitors in the 400 meter dash finals and picked up eight points toward the team score for the Blue Devils. Andrews crossed the finish line with a time of 50.37, just seven hundredths of a second behind the leader.
Chris Savvidou joined Andrews in the 400 meter dash and also recorded a top-10 finish in the event. The senior took sixth place and earned three points for CCSU with a time of 51.79.
Freshman Austin Trainor earned a point for the Blue Devils with his eighth place finish in the 800 meter run. The rookie crossed the finish line with a time of 2:02.04 to earn the finish.
The 2015 NEC Indoor Track and Field MVP and 2014 NEC Cross Country Outstanding Performer, Patrick Hubbell, began his outdoor campaign with a top-five finish in the 1,500 meter run on Saturday. The senior placed fifth in the event and earned four points for CCSU with a time of 4:01.53.
Freshman Tyler Latham and senior Jordan Watkins recorded second and third place respective finishes in the 110 meter hurdles for the Blue Devils. Latham broke the tape with a time of 15.12 and Watkins came in right behind Latham at 15.17. Combined, the duo tallied 14 points towards Central's team score.
Ryan Budd was the top finisher in the 400 meter hurdles for the Blue Devils at the meet. The senior took the silver medal and picked up eight points with a finishing time of 56.18. Latham finished just outside of the podium in the same event and recorded a fourth place finish and earned five points with a time of 56.65.
Freshman Sam Borecki led the way for CCSU in the field events and claimed gold in the pole vault. In his first outdoor meet of his career as a Blue Devil, the rookie cleared 4.55 meters to earn the honors and pick up 10 valuable points for his team. The clearance also marked a new personal-best for Borecki.
Classmate Mike Lang recorded a top-10 finish in the long jump on Saturday. The rookie earned a point for CCSU with an eighth place finish after he leaped to 6.07 meters in the event.
John Sudol recorded a second place finish in the triple jump for the Blue Devils. The junior sprang to 13.00 meters in the event to record the finish and earn eight points for the team.
Senior Michael Ficorilli led the way for Central in the hammer throw. Ficorilli launched the hammer to 45.23 meters to pick up a sixth place finish out of 30 competitors and earn three points for the Blue Devils.
Latham and sophomore Jeremy Willis both picked up points for CCSU in the javelin at the AIC meet. Latham continued his successful day with another runner-up performance, launching the javelin to 60.20 meters to earn eight points. Willis finished right behind him in fourth place after he tossed the javelin to 55.08 meters.
Vermont won the 5th Annual Yellow Jacket Invitational with a team score of 138 points. They were followed by Northeastern (135.5) and host American International (81) to round out the podium. CCSU was fourth with 78.5 points and Westfield State finished fifth with 77 points to complete the top-five.
The Blue Devils will return to action with some athletes attending the North Florida Twilight Meet on April 10 and others traveling to either UMass-Amherst for the Minutemen Invitational or to Bucknell for the Bison Outdoor Classic on April 11.