Black and Gold fly past competition
SMITHFIELD, R.I. – With less than five weeks reaming until the 2011 Northeast Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships, the Bryant University squad took part in the annual George Davis Invitational at the Cushing Field Complex in Lowell, Mass. Saturday afternoon.
With 23 NCAA Division I, II and III teams in attendance, inclduing three individual NCAA champions from the 2011 indoor season on hand, the Bulldogs track and field squad stood out with multiple top performances by a number of individuals.
On the women's side, Sherika Nicholas (East Patchogue, N.Y.) once again displayed her success in the short distance events, registered an eighth-place finish in the 100m dash with a time of 13.27 in the finals and 13.20 in the qualifying heat. Nicholas followed up her top-ten spot with a solid showing the 200m dash, finishing 18th overall in the field of 65 runners with a time of 27.22.
In the long distance events, the Bryant women's lineup was paced by sophomore Megan Robertson (Sewell, N.J.), as the New Jersey native crossed the line fourth overall in the 5000m run with a 18:48.74 mark in the finals.
Fellow long distance runner Eimear Black (Glengormley, Ireland) continued to excel as a freshman, generating a 15th-place spot in the 1500m with a time of 4:58.23 in the finals. Black recorded a personal-best time of 4:50.0 in the qualifying heat.
Fellow classmate, Lauren Fortin contributed to a solid showing in the field events, placing 13th overall in the pole vault competition, climbing 2.74m in the trials and 2.45 in the finals.
Joining Fortin in the field was Katelyn Kelleher (Wrentham, Mass.), who tossed the discus 31.38m, good enough for 15th place in the 33-compeitior field. Allison Pavao (Swansea, Mass.) also recorded a top-10 finish, throwing the Javalien 33.72m in the finals for the No. 10 spot overall.
On the men's side, the Bulldogs received multiple personal-best performances, as Scott Twardowski (Rehoboth, Mass.) headlined the list of top performers.Twardowski came nearly two seconds from shattering the 1500 school record (3:57.44 Jason Eddy 2002) with his 3:58.00 showing in the finals, picking up fourth overall.
In the short distance events, Joseph Pugliano (West Springfield, Mass.) registered an eight place time of 11.68 in the 100m dash. Pugliano followed up with a fifth-place spot in the 200m dash with a 23.22 mark, giving the Massachusetts native two top-10 finishes on the day.
Junior Anthony Monteiro (Leominster, Mass.) led the way for Bryant in the hurdle events, finishing third overall in the 100m hurdles with a time of 15.79 and eighth overall in the 400m hurdles with a 57.84 mark.
Once again Chris Brida (Southampton, Mass.) performed well in the men's long jump and triple jump. Brida lept 13.90m in the triple jump, good enough for sixth place overall. Brida's long jump distance of 6.73m, lifted him to a fourth-place finish.
The Bulldogs return to action next weekend when they travel to Providence, R.I. on April 16 for the Brown University Invitational.