Track & field primed for Bryant Invitational

SMITHFIELD, RI. - The Bryant University men's and women's track & field teams are set for their first full meet of the outdoor season on Saturday when they host the Bryant Invitational at the Track and Turf Complex.

The men's and women's track & field teams opened the 2011 outdoor season on Tuesday in a Tri Meet with Providence College and Stony Brook University at the Bryant Track and Turf complex. The Bulldogs fell to both schools, but featured several strong individual performances. The meet, however, excluded several events such as the hurdles and pole vault that Bryant will compete in on Saturday.

On Tuesday, the men were led by junior Ryan Busby (Derry, N.H.) who grabbed a first-place finish in the men's 1,500 meter run with a time of 4:04.21. Several other men took second in their events including seniors Scott Twardowski (Rehoboth, Mass.) with a time of 8:49.26 in the 3,000 meter run and Michael DiBella (Upper Saddle River, N.J.) with 51.07 seconds in the 400 meter dash, and sophomores Joseph Pugliano (West Springfield, Mass.) with 23.05 seconds in the 200 meter dash sophomore and Michael Arons (West Hartford, Conn.) with 11.56 seconds in the 100 meter dash.

The men also saw some success in the field events with freshmen Peter Allie (Stoneham, Mass.) and Nick Todman (Danbury, Mass.) each taking second in the high jump (5-feet, 10 inches) and javelin throw (176-feet, 8 inches), respectively.

Senior Sherika Nicholas (East Patchogue, N.Y.) led the charge on the women's side with a first-place finish in the 100 meter dash (13.20 seconds) and a second-place finish in the 200 meters (26.97 seconds). In field events, Katelyn Kelleher (Wrentham, Mass.) and Allison Pavao (Swansea, Mass.) took first in the shot put (33 feet, 4.75 inches) and javelin (120 feet, 6 inches), respectively.

Both sides could benefit by the full field of events on Saturday. Junior Anthony Monteiro (Leominster, Mass), who set multiple records in the hurdles during the past indoor season, will be looking to continue his strong performances in the outdoor season, where he set the school mark in the 110 meters hurdles two years ago. For the women, sophomore Amanda Dilley (Bridgewater, Mass.) holds several indoor school hurdle records and after coming close to the school records in outdoor hurdle events last season, will be looking to make those marks her own this spring.

Fifteen teams are slated to participate in Saturday's meet, including Northeast Conference rivals Central Connecticut State and Sacred Heart and intrastate rivals Brown, CCRI, Providence College, Roger Williams and the University of Rhode Island. The full schedule of events is set to begin at 10 a.m.