Men's Track and Field Second at UNH
The Blue Devils return to action May 3-4 for the 2014 NEC Championships.
The Central Connecticut men's track and field team placed second at the University of New Hampshire Wildcat Invitational on Saturday. The meet served as a final tune up for the Blue Devils as they get ready for the 2014 NEC Championships hosted by Robert Morris University on May 3-4.
Junior Jamal Fruster also represented CCSU at the North Florida Invitational in Jacksonville, FL Saturday. He raced both the 200m and 400m dash events, finishing the 200m in a career-best time of 22.17 seconds. In the 400m, Fruster placed fourth of 20 sprinters with his time of 48.59.
The Blue Devils registered five silver-medal performances Saturday at New Hampshire and an additional 13 in the top-five en route to the overall silver.
In the field events, freshman Malik Gordon earned second place in the high jump, clearing a height of 1.85m. Classmate Garrett Shaw also collected a silver medal in the triple jump, leaping 12.95m. He was followed in the event by sophomore John Sudol (4th, 12.49m) and freshman Kwency Crittenden (5th, 11.89).
Junior Michael Ficorilli also displayed an impressive individual performance, registering career-best distances in both the shot put and hammer throw. He earned two top-five finishes, claiming fourth in the shot put (13.92m) and fifth in the hammer throw (46.30m).
In the sprint events, sophomore Kendall Walker finished fourth in the 100m dash (11.38) followed by freshman Elijah Amoah in ninth (11.70). Amoah finished seventh in the 200m (23.43) ahead of junior Jamie Tobias who placed 10th (23.57).
In the 400m, two Blue Devils posted career-best times. Freshman Zach Andrews crossed the finish line in 50.14 seconds, good for a bronze medal. He was followed by junior Chris Savvidou in fifth who clocked 50.68.
Two more Blue Devils tallied personal-best performances in the 800m run. Freshman Thomas Lupoli crossed fourth in 1:54.21, followed by sophomore Malcolm Connor (5th, 1:54.25).
In the hurdle events, junior Jordan Watkins placed third in the 110m hurdles, crossing the finish line in 15.34. He placed ninth in the 400m hurdles in a career-best time of 56.13 but was topped by classmate Ryan Budd who finished sixth in 55.55.
Central also performed well in the relays, finishing second and third overall. The 4x100m relay squad, comprised of freshman Jevon Elmore, Walker, Savvidou and Andrews, clocked a time of 43.77 for the silver. In the 4x400m relay, Connor, junior Joey Farrington, Lupoli and freshman Jamil Ferguson finished third in 3:26.09.
Maine came out on top on Saturday, registering 134.50 team points followed by the Blue Devils (100), UMass (98), Dartmouth (87) and Vermont (86).
CCSU will return to action this weekend, May 3-4, for the 2014 NEC Championships hosted by Robert Morris University.