Minuteman Invitational next stop for Track & Field

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – The Bryant University track & field team will compete in its second outdoor meet of the season on Saturday when the Bulldogs head to Amherst, Massachusetts, to compete in the Minuteman Invitational. The meet is set to begin at noon with throws, while the first event on the track, the 10,000-meter run, will start up at 12:10 p.m.

After a successful meet at the Black & Gold Invitational, head track & field coach Mitchell Switzer is excited about what's in store for the Bulldogs. "We had a very successful start to our outdoor season last week. We broke two school records, three ECAC/IC4A Qualifiers, four met records and numerous PRs," Switzer said. "This weeks' meet at UMass is an opportunity for us to use that momentum and focus on placement and competing in the meet. The New England weather will test the adversity of our athletes, but I think they'll be able to step up and perform at a high level."

The Bryant men will send out athletes into 16 events, while the women will compete in 12.

Sophomore Jacklyn Sullivan (Plymouth, Mass.) is scheduled to run in the 800-meter run, an event that she holds the school record in (2:13.80, set last season). Classmate Olivia Lodge (Newtown, N.J.) is also running in the event, and has the third fastest time in the Bryant record book (2:15.60, also set last season). Both runners will also compete in the 1,500-meter run, along with four other Bulldogs including senior Melissa Lodge (Hopkinton, Mass.), who owns a program-record time of 4:30.42 in the event, set last season.

Freshman Courtney Kelleher (Wrentham, Mass.) will compete in three throws events, the shot put, the discus and the hammer throw. Kelleher's sister, Katelyn, owns top-five marks all-time at Bryant, including the number two mark in the discus.

On the men's side, senior Deion Raper (Brockton, Mass.) is competing in the 110-meter hurdles, looking to best his school record time of 14.98 seconds. The senior is also running in the 200-meter dash, an event that he owns the second-fastest time in Bryant history in (21.97 seconds).

In throws, three Bulldogs are competing in multiple events. Freshmen Bill Conlan (Seymour, Conn.) and Thomas McNeil (Foxborough, Mass.) are each competing in the shot put, the discus and the hammer throw. Another freshman, Samuel Sargent (Westminster, Mass.) is competing in both the javelin and the hammer throw.

This is the first time that Bryant has ran in the Minuteman Invitational.