Men's Track and Field Wins Third Straight NEC Outdoor Title
Blue Devils put together a dominating two-day performance to win the title
The Central Connecticut men's track and field team won its third straight Northeast Conference Outdoor Track and Field title on Sunday afternoon in New Britain, putting on an impressive two-day performance and racking up 208 total points on its way to victory.
LIU Brooklyn finished second with 154 points, followed by St. Francis University with 132.5 points, Mount St. Mary's with 83 points and Fairleigh Dickinson wih 81 points to round out the top five.
Senior Matt Walker was named the distance runner of the meet on the men's side, winning both the 10,000 meter on Saturday and the 5,000 meter on Sunday.
Walker ran 15:32.73 in the 5,000 meter to claim his second title of the meet on Sunday. He led a group of CCSU runners who finished first, third, fourth and fifth. Freshman Alex Norstrom (15:44.68) was third, freshman Roberto Piotto (15:45.03) was fourth and sophomore Austin Trainor (15:48.99) was fifth.
Trainor had claimed the steeplechase earlier in the day on Sunday with an impressive time of 9:36.90. He led a group of three Blue Devils who finished in the top three in the event. Sophomore Brendan Callahan was second with a time of 9:48.62, and Norstrom was third with a time of 9:49.24.
Junior Kendall Walker finished fifth in the 200 meter with a time of 22.14. Senior Jamal Fruster was fourth in the 400 meter with a time of 48.74. Junior teammate Zach Andrews was eighth in a time of 56.00.
Senior Dashawn Putman was third in the high jump with a height of 1.99 meters. Sophomore Tyler Latham and junior Malik Gordon tied for fifth place in the same event, both jumping 1.93 meters.
Senior Kwency Crittenden finished third overall in the triple jump with a distance of 13.82 meters.
Junior Joseph Gioielli took gold in the 1,500 meter run with a time of 3:51.30.
The Blue Devils scored three in the 110 meter hurdles as freshmen Tyrik Henry (14.48), Edwin Alston (14.63) and Quincy Sanchez (14.75) finished fifth, sixth and seventh in the event.
Central started the day with a strong performance in the 4x100 meter relay, finishing first in a time of 42.12. The team of Andrews, Kendall Walker, Fruster and Henry claimed first place and 10 points for the Blue Devils.
The Blue Devils held the lead after day one after a strong first day on the track and in the field events. Walker won the 10,000 meter to begin the day, and a solid first place finish in the 4x800 meter relay capped off a 72 point performance for the Blue Devils.
Central also had a first place finish from sophomore pole vaulter Sam Borecki and a second place finish by classmate Mike Lang in the long jump.
