Five Blue Devils Grab Gold at UNH for Men's Track & Field on Saturday

The Central Connecticut men's outdoor track and field team competed at the 2016 UNH Pre-Conference Meet hosted by the University of New Hampshire in Durham, NH on Saturday afternoon. Five Blue Devils recorded first place finishes at the meet and the team went on to post a score of 95 points to finish in third place out of seven teams.

UMass Amherst won the meet with a team score of 144 points. Host team, New Hampshire, finished runner-up with 99 points followed by the Blue Devils at 95 points to round out the top three teams.

OFFICIAL RESULTS

Senior Kendall Walker ran 22.54 in the men's 200 meter run to record a first place overall finish and pick up 10 points for the Blue Devils.

Junior Zach Andrews also grabbed a first place finish and 10 points for CCSU on Saturday, but in the 400 meter dash. Andrews crossed the finish line with a time of 58.96 to earn the result. Sophomore Will Ribeiro joined Andrews in the race and picked up a point for CCSU with a sixth place finish, running 51.50.

Joe Gioielli picked up the third first place finish for the Blue Devils on the afternoon, topping a field of 32 runners in the 800 meter run. The junior broke the tape with a time of 1:53.87 to earn he gold and 10 points for CCSU's team score. Freshman Richard Grudzwick and senior Malcolm Connor also scored in the race finishing fourth and fifth, respectively. Grudzwick finished in 1:54.68 and Connor turned in a time of 1:54.74.

Junior Kwency Crittenden out-jumped three other athletes in the triple jump to record the fourth first place finish by a Blue Devil on Saturday. Crittenden leapt to the 13.72 meter mark to earn the victory.

Freshman K.J. Smith recorded the fifth and final first place finish on Saturday. In his first collegiate competition of the season, the rookie won the men's javelin to lead the Blue Devils in the field events at the meet. Smith launched the implement to the 49.98 meter mark to record the result.

Junior Brendan Callahan led three Blue Devils who competed in the 1,500 meter run. Callahan ran 4:03.11 to record an eighth place finish out of 29 runners in the event.

In the 110 meter hurdles, freshman Tyrik Henry sprinted to a fifth place finish running 15.98, while classmate Quincy Sanchez recorded a fifth place finish in the 400 meter hurdles turning in a time 56.79. Sophomore Tyler Latham also scored in the 400 meter hurdles and finished sixth with a time of 57.02.

Malik Godon posted a season-best height in the high jump on his way to a third place finish in the event. The junior cleared 1.90 meters to earn the result and five points for the team.

Sophomore's Sam Borecki and Mike Lang finished runner-up in the pole vault and the long jump, respectively. Borecki cleared a season-best 4.71 meters in the vault, while Lang leapt to the 6.59 meter mark as they each grabbed silver medals.

The CCSU men's outdoor track and field team will return to action next with the Northeast Conference Championships hosted by the Blue Devils in New Britain at the CCSU Track & Field Complex on May 7-8.