Raymond, Men's Track 4x800 Relay Medal at NEC's, Advance 10 to Finals on Sunday

Central Connecticut senior Tyler Raymond began the 2017 Northeast Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships with a bronze medal in the men's 10,000 meter run. Raymond crossed the finish line at 31:32.36 to score six points of CCSU's 27.5 total after the first day of championship competition at Mount St. Mary's on Saturday, May 6.

Saint Francis U. sits in the drivers seat heading into Sunday with 42 points. Following the Red Flash is Sacred Heart (36), Mount St. Mary's (34), and LIU Brooklyn (32).

DAY TWO START LISTS | SCHEDULE OF EVENTS | DAY ONE FINAL RESULTS

MEN'S CHAMPIONSHIP HQ

CCSU advanced ten members to compete in the finals tomorrow. Senior Joseph Gioielli qualified in the 800 meter run after finishing in first place in the preliminary round with a time of 1:56.90. Joining the veteran on Sunday will be rookie Jonathan Gill who cruised in third place on day one with a time of 1:58.28.

The Blue Devils' 4x800 meter relay team consisting of junior Austin Trainor, senior Brendan Callahan, Gill, Gioielli earned bronze and scored another six points onto their total. The quartet  finished with a time of 7:53.13.

The men's high jump finals resulted in four top-10 finishes for Central. Leading the pack was freshman Kevorni Welsh who recorded a fourth place personal best jump of 1.90 meters scoring five points. Junior Sam Borecki also leaped 1.90 meters, earning another PR, to place fifth overall (4). Tying for eighth and 10^th place were juniors Tyler Latham (1.85m) and Mike Lang (1.80m).

Central registered another outstanding performance in the long jump finals with all six Blue Devil competitors achieving personal records. At the top of the individual highs was Latham, who jumped an impressive 7.02 meters flying under IC4A qualifying standards to place fifth overall (5). Freshman Jared Creech soared 6.95m in seventh (2) and Lang came in 10^th with a 6.73m jump. Next in 11^th-13^th place was Ward (6.44m), freshman Jack St. Clair (6.69m), and rookie Evan Walker (6.67m).

Gioielli placed third in the 1,500 meter run in 4:11.86, and freshman Julio Arredondo finished right behind him in 4:13.15. Both Blue Devils will run in the championship race at 1:15 p.m.

Latham also qualified in the 400 meter hurdles along with sophomores Frankin Bartley Jr. and Quincy Sanchez. Latham set his second PR of the day with a time of 55.71.

CCSU went 3-for-3 in the 110m hurdle prelims, advancing sophomore Edwin Alston, Sanchez and Bartley who ran a personal best 15.14s. The three will partake in the finals tomorrow at 1:35 p.m.

Senior Zach Andrews rounded out the finalists for Central in the 400 meter dash after running a 50.31s time. Sophomore's Jero Sneh and Julio Gil-Martinez competed in the 100m and 200m dash, but were unable to move on to Sunday. Sneh ran a 11.30s and 23.12s, and Gil-Martinez crossed the finish line at 11.50s and 23.80s, respectively.

Paced by Raymond in the 10K, junior Ryan Hertzog placed ninth overall with a time of 32.20.17. Juniors Eric Davidson and Colin Sauter came in 15^th and 17^th place in the NEC's first final. Freshman Nana Kissi represented CCSU in the discus throwing 29.23m.

Trainor, Callahan, and sophomore Kyle Welch will kick off the final day of the 2017 NEC Championships tomorrow at 12:25 p.m. in the 3K steeple chase. The first field event will be the hammer throw at 9:30 a.m. Follow @CCSUTrack and @nectrack for all of the most recent udpates and coverage via Twitter.