Men's Outdoor Track Chases Fourth Straight NEC Title at Mount St. Mary's
The 2017 Northeast Conference Outdoor Men's Track & Field Championships will be hosted by Mount St. Mary's on Saturday and Sunday, May 6-7, in Emmitsburg, MD.
The championships track events will begin on Saturday at 9:25 a.m. with the men's 10,000 meter run featuring the NEC's third ranked Blue Devil senior, Tyler Raymond. The shot put will kick off the 2017 championship field events at 10:00 a.m. and will conclude with the men's high jump finals at 1:00 p.m.
Senior Joseph Gioielli looks to defend his 2016 1,500 meter title as the NEC number one contender with a time of 3:48.28. Gioielli enters the race under the Northeast Conference Championship meet record of 3:49.19 set back in 2013.
Junior Austin Trainor league leading 3,000 steeple chase time of 8:58.04 sits at an entire 10.62 seconds below the NEC meet record of 9:08.66 set in 2001 by SFU's Brian Sell. Trainor won the steeple chase last year with a time of 9:36.90.
CCSU 110m hurdle record-holder, sophomore Edwin Alston, is ranked second in the NEC with a time of 14.17 set at the Miami Hurricane Alumni Invitational this year.
Trainor, Gioielli, the league's 800m second ranked, freshman Jonathan Gill, and rookie Julio Arredondo will defend their 2016 4x800 meter relay title on Saturday at 3:00 p.m.
Senior Jeremy Willis is tabbed the second pole vaulter with his personal best throw of 62.52m recorded at the UConn Northeast Challenge. The men's pole vault finals are scheduled for Saturday at 1:00 p.m.
Last year at the NEC's, CCSU racked up a total of 208 points across the two-day championship meet to cruise to its third straight title. The Blue Devils took home seven gold medals in the 4x100, 4x800, pole vault, 1,500m, 5,000m, 3,000m steeplechase, and 10,000m.
Follow @CCSUTrack and @nectrack via Twitter for live championship updates throughout the weekend. Highlights and interviews of the 2017 NEC Men's Outdoor Track & Field Championships will posted after the races on NEC Front Row.