Track Wins Three Events at Monmouth

The Central Connecticut men's track team earned three gold medals at the 24^th Annual Season Opener hosted my Monmouth University on Saturday. Junior Richard Grudzwick won the 800 meter run with a time of 1:54.81. Classmate Roberto Piotto finished first in the men's 5,000 meter run with an impressive time of 14:59.31. In the 110 meter hurdles, junior Quincy Sanchez recorded a time of 14.85 seconds taking home the gold in the event.

Rookie Jovan Dixon as the only Blue Devil to compete in the 100 meter dash and recorded a time of 11.58 seconds for a 22^nd place finish.

Dixon also competed in the 200 meter dash coming in 24^th place with a time of 23.37 seconds. Junior Akiel Smith finished first for Central in the event with a time of 22.37 earning a fifth place finish. Sophomore Miles Fye-Moore was next in 14^th place with a time of 22.75. Sanchez and junior Edwin Alston also competed finishing with times of 23.24 and 23.86 respectively.

In the men's 400 meter dash, junior Jack St. Clair recorded a time of 51.26 seconds and sophomore Hank Jean-Jacques completed the event in 53.01 seconds.

Junior Andrew Findley and rookie Jason Walton joined Grudzwick in the 800 meter run crossing the finish line in 1:57.49 and 2:05.46 respectively.

Junior Julio Arredondo represented CCSU in the 1,500 meter run earning a seventh place finish after running the race in 4:05.06.

Along with Piotto and freshmen Elias Fields and Robert Moore, Arredondo ran the 5,000 meter run in 15:57.56 seconds. Fields came in eighth place with a time of 15:31.84 and Moore clocked in at 15:46.71 for 12^th place.

Freshman Cam Whalen was the other Blue Devil to compete in the 110 meter hurdles coming in ninth place with a time of 15.94 seconds.

Whalen, senior Matt Baum, and freshman Laurenzo Thompkins competed in the 400 meter hurdles. Baum came in fifth place at 55.75 seconds. Thompkins and Whalen finished in 10^th and 11^th place at 57.68 and 58.46 respectively.

The men's 4x100 relay team consisting of Dixon, Smith, Fye-Moore, and Dandridge earned a fifth place finish with a time of 42.61 seconds.

Central had two teams compete in the 4x400 relay race. Team 'A' (Walton, Grudzwick, Fye-Moore, and Smith) came in third place at 3:25.84. Team 'B' (Dandridge, St. Clair, Findley, Jean-Jacques, and Baum) finished in fifth place at 3:27.25.

In the men's pole vault, freshman Craig Starkey came in 13^th place with a height of 3.81 meters.

Rookie Trevor Glymph and St. Clair competed in the long jump. St. Clair came in 17^th place with a jump of 6.18 meters and Glymph 20^th place with a leap of 5.98 meters.

Glymph also competed in the triple jump earning an 11^th place finish with a jump of 12.93 meters.

In the men's shot put, junior Nana Kissi and freshman Ed Radzion came in 12^th and 13^th place with throws of 13.93 and 13.60 meters respectively.

Kissi also threw the javelin finishing in 13^th place with a throw of 46.30 meters. Freshman Andrew McCarthy set a new personal record in the discus with a throw of 48.86 meters.

The men's track and field team competes next in Virginia in the Colonial Relays at William and Mary on April 5-6.