Putman Breaks School Record, Men's T&F Wins CCSU Track & Field Invite
Senior Dashawn Putman broke the CCSU school record in the men's high jump and the Blue Devils went on to win the CCSU Track & Field Invite on Saturday in New Britain.
The Central Connecticut men's outdoor track and field team won the CCSU Track & Field Invite that they hosted on Saturday in New Britain. The Blue Devils tallied 225 total points to top the field of 10 teams at the meet. Senior Dashawn Putman highlighted the day by breaking the CCSU school record in the high jump after clearing 2.08 meters.
The Blue Devils won their outdoor season opening meet by totaling 225 points to finish ahead of Massachusetts (201.5) and Sacred Heart (86.5) to round out the top three teams. Holy Cross was fourth with 67 points followed by Hartford in fifth with 42. Connecticut was sixth with 24 points, ahead of Quinnipac (8) and Fairfield who rounded out the eight Division I scoring teams at the meet with five points.
OFFICIAL RESULTS
Freshman Roberto Piotto opened the CCSU Track & Field Invite by taking gold in the 10,000 meter run in his outdoor debut, topping the field with a time of 31:39.84 to pick up 10 points for the Blue Devils. His time also qualified him to compete in the USA Junior Nationals later this spring in Clovis, CA on June 24-26.
Brendan Callahan recorded a seventh place finish for the Blue Devils in the steeplechase. The junior completed the race with a time of 9:44.55 for the finish and earned five points towards the men's team score.
A pair of Blue Devils finished inside the top-10 in the men's mile run. Sophomore Austin Trainor recorded a third place finish with a time of 4:16.54 and junior Joseph Gioielli turned in a ninth place finish with a time of 4:23.55. The duo combined to pickup seven points for their team.
Central was very successful in the 110 meter hurdles and grabbed 24 total points towards its team score. Freshman Edwin Alston won the event sprinting to a time of 15.01, while fellow classmates Quincy Sanchez and Tyrik Henry finished third and fourth with respective times of 15.63 and 15.92. Freshman Franklin Bartley also scored in the event for CCSU finishing eighth with a time of 16.66.
Senior Jamal Fruster led a trio of Blue Devils to finish inside the top-five for 21 points in the 400 meter dash after clocking in a blistering time of 49.02 to claim first place. Sophomore's Tyler Latham and Will Ribeiro joined Fruster in the race and finished fourth and fifth, respectfully. Latham finished at the 51.57 mark and Ribeiro crossed the finish line with a time of 51.82.
In the 100 meter dash, senior Kendall Walker finished on the podium with a third place finish after registering a finishing time of 11.08 and snagged eight points for Central.
Freshman Richard Grudzwick recorded a first place finish in his outdoor debut for the Blue Devils in the 800 meter run. The rookie sped to a time of 1:54.81 to pickup 10 points. Senior Malcolm Connor joined Grudzwick on the podium with a third place finish clocking in a time of 1:56.38 and freshman Adonys Langual finished seventh with a time of 1:58.73.
Alston picked up his second gold medal of the meet after he bolted to a first place finish in the 400 meter hurdles. The freshman crossed the finish line first with a time of 57.03 and earned 10 points for the Blue Devils. Fellow classmates Matt Baum and Sanchez also scored in the event placing fourth and seventh respectfully. Baum turned in a time of 58.72 and Sanchez finished at 59.70.
Senior's Walker and Fruster led the way for the Blue Devils in the 200 meter dash. Walker finished third with a time of 22.79 and Fruster claimed fourth clocking in a time of 22.82.
In the 5,000 meter run, senior Matt Walker posted a runner-up finish with a final time of 15:12.16. His time earned the Blue Devils eight points towards their team score.
The CCSU 'A' 4x400 relay team of junior Zach Andrews, Sanchez, Connor and Grudzwick finished fifth after combining for a time of 3:33.50.
Senior Therin Scott picked up six points for CCSU in the discus throw. The veteran launched the discus 36.27 meters for a seventh place finish in the event.
Junior Jeremy Willis and Latham finished one-two in the javelin throw and combined to earn 18 points for Central. Willis tossed the javelin 60.06 meters, while Latham threw 56.90 meters to earn the results.
Zach Torro logged a fifth place finish in the shot put on Saturday. The junior hurled the shot 13.46 meters on his third attempt to record the finish and grab eight points for the Blue Devils.
Putman highlighted the meet for the Blue Devils with his clearance of 2.08 meters (6' 9.75") in the high jump. The clearance by the senior broke the previous CCSU school record of 6' 9.5" held by Liddon Norman which had stood since 2001. Freshman Amaziah Gadson also competed in the high jump and finished third with a clearance of 1.89 meters.
Sophomore Mike Lang recorded the best finish for CCSU in the long jump and finished second after leaping to 6.64 meters. Henry also finished in the top-five in the event with a fifth place finish after jumping to the 6.35 meter mark.
Junior Kwency Crittenden and senior John Sudol finished fifth and sixth in the triple jump. Crittenden leaped to the 13.25 meter mark and Sudol posted a mark of 12.41 meters.
The CCSU men's track and field team will return to action next on Friday, April 8 at the Sam Howell Invitational hosted by Princeton University.
