Men's Track and Field Second at UMass-Amherst

The Central Connecticut men's outdoor track and field team finished second at the UMass Amherst Pre-Conference meet on Saturday. The Blue Devils compiled 118.50 points over 19 events at the meet to earn the runner-up finish. Central recorded nine top-three finishes on the afternoon, led by seniors Jordan Watkins and Ryan Budd who both picked up gold medals.

UMass-Amherst Pre-Conference Meet Results

Watkins earned his gold medal in the 110 meter hurdles. The senior turned in a time of 14.53 to take the top spot in the event.

Budd logged his first place finish in the 400 meter hurdles for CCSU. The New York native crossed the finish line at the 54.64 mark to earn the gold.

Sophomore David Campbell recorded a second place finish in the 100 meter dash at the Pre-Conference meet. Campbell came in at 10.83 to take the silver.

The CCSU 4x100 meter relay team also logged a runner-up finish on Saturday. The team of senior Chris Savvidou, junior Kendall Walker, sophomore Zach Andrews and freshman Tyler Latham combined to finish with a time of 42.47 to earn the result. The time also qualified the team to compete in the 4x100 meter relay at the IC4A Championships on May 15-17.

In the pole vault, freshman Sam Borecki cleared 4.55 meters to finish in a tie second at the meet. The clearance was a new collegiate personal best mark for the rookie.

Junior Kwency Crittenden finished with a pair of top-three marks, earning the silver in the triple jump and taking the bronze in the long jump. In the triple jump, Crittenden leaped to 13.29 meters to finish second. He reached the 6.36 meter mark, a season best distance, to record a third place finish in the long jump.

Kendall Walker finished on the podium for the Blue Devils in the 200 meter dash. The junior sprinter clocked in at 22.33 in the event to pick up a third place finish.

Freshman Tyler Latham ran a new collegiate personal best time in the 400 meter hurdles on Saturday. Latham's new personal best time of 55.99 earned him a third place overall finish in the event for the Blue Devils.

Dartmouth won the UMass Amherst Pre-Conference meet totaling 166 points as a team. The Blue Devils finished runner-up with a respectable 118.50 points followed by host UMass-Amherst with 112.50 points. Vermont was fourth with 91.50 points followed by Maine (87.50), New Hampshire (87) and UMass Lowell (66) to round out the seven team field.

The men's outdoor track and field team will return to competition as they look to defend their title at the 2015 Northeast Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships next weekend, May 2 and 3. The championships are being held at Mount St. Mary's in Emmitsburg, MD. More information for the championships can be found on NEC Championship Headquarters page here.