Day 1 of conference indoor meet complete
Bryant puts forth solid performance in the opening act in Landover, Md., Saturday
SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Day one is in the books at the 2011 Northeast Conference indoor track and field championships, as the Bryant University men's and women's teams put forth a solid performance in the opening act in Landover, Md. Saturday afternoon.
For the second straight week freshman Martha Reynolds (London, England) paced the Bulldogs, as the London native finished third in the mile qualifying heats, recording a season-low time of 5:13.97. Fellow international runner Eimear Black (Glengormley, Ireland) had her first taste of NEC competition, as the freshman recorded a 5:22.74 time en route to a 17-place finish in the mile. Fellow rookie Lauren Ganim (Trumbull, Conn.) completed the mile run with a 5:40.28 mark.
On the women's side, Kimberly Warner (Shrewsbury, Mass.) recorded a distance of 4.27m in the long jump competition, followed by Amy Hutchinson (Exeter, R.I.) who registered a distance 4.26m and a 29-place finish. Kaitlynn Campbell (Shrewsbury, Mass.) put forth a solid performance in the 500m dash, but her 1:23.62 mark was not fast enough to qualify for Sunday's finals.
Campbell also competed in the 200m dash where she recorded a time of 28.01, but she was not alone in the event, as Sherika Nicholas (East Patchogue, N.Y.) recorded a team-best 27.45 time in the event. Amanda Dilley (Bridgewater, Mass.) and Allison Pavao (Swansea, Mass.) also had strong showings with times of 28.53 and 29.85, respectively, but neither Bulldog was able to qualify for the finals.
Sophomore standout Megan Robertson (Sewell, N.J.) continued her success sin distance running, finishing 17th in the 3000m with a 10:54.19 mark in the 27-person field. Despite not placing in the field, Robertson's time was a season-best for the New Jersey native.
On the men's side Ryan Busby (Derry, N.H.) and Michael DiBella (Upper Saddle River, N.J.) led the pack, as both Bulldogs qualified for the finals in their respective events. Busby's 4:24.51 mark in the mile run was good enough for a seventh-place finish and a chance for the crown on Sunday's final heat. DiBella finished second in the 500m dash, with a season-best 1:06.76 mark in the prelims, just six tenths of a second behind the leader.
In addition to Busby, Ken Rayner (Acton, Mass.) and Scott Twardowski (Rehoboth, Mass.) recorded strong performances in the mile, finishing the event with times of 4:42.86 and 4:23.86, respectively. Twardowski missed the qualifying cutoff by a mere five tenths of a second en route to setting a personal best.
Junior Chris Brida (Southampton, Mass.) produced a season-best in the long jump with a 6.43m leap, but the personal-best distance would not be enough to qualify for the finals, as the Massachusetts native was just two tenths of a meter out of the top-10.
Joseph Pugliano (West Springfield, Mass.) recorded a season-best time of 51.64 in the 400m dash prelims, while Christopher Chapruet (Danvers, Mass.) finished the 3000m run with a 9:13.93 mark. Michael Arons (West Hartford, Conn.) and Kyle Reid represented the Black and Gold well in the 60m dash with times of 7.38 and 7.41, respectively, Junior Ben Polichronopolous (South Berwick, Maine) generated a time of 1:58.85 in the 800m run, a season-best for Bryant.
Kyle Reid (North Raynham, Mass.) and Arons rounded out the day for Bryant with a solid performance in the 200m dash. Reid registered a time of 23.55 while Arons was close behind with a 23.71 mark.
The Bulldogs will wrap up the league championships on Sunday starting with the mile run finals, as Bryant looks to knock off Monmouth, who leads the standings on both the men's and women's sides after the first day.