4x800 relay takes home silver on day one of NEC Championships

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Performances from senior Nicole Dempsey (Norwell, Mass.), junior Jonee Harrison (Dorchester, Mass.) and the men's 4x800 relay team highlighted the Bryant University track and field teams first day at the Northeast Conference Championships on Saturday at Central Connecticut in New Britain, Conn.

The Bulldogs are eighth in men and eighth in women. Central Connecticut leads on the men's side, while Sacred Heart leads on the women's side. 

Bryant's 4x800 relay grabbed a silver medal on day one of the championships, finishing with a school-record time of 7:53.11. The quartet of Milan Duka (Belgrade, Serbia), Thomas Mullally (Mastic Beach, N.Y.), Brian Salit (Seekonk, Mass.) and Richard Landry (Holyoke, Mass.) is the first to run a sub-8:00 time in program history.

Dempsey finished fourth in the long jump on Saturday, posting a distance of 5.30m. Harrison added her best finish at the championships, finishing fourth in the hammer with a throw of 48.11m.

Senior Russell Stevens (Colchester, Conn.) also posted a strong performance, finishing 10th in the 10k with a personal-best time of 33:07.54.

Three other Bulldogs qualified for Sunday's finals. Duka and Landry both qualified in the 1500, finishing second and ninth. Duka finished in 4:05.21 and Landry finished in 4:07.20.

Two-time 400m hurdle champion Kristen Hayes (Menands, N.Y.) will compete for a third consecutive after qualifying Saturday. She finished seventh with a time of 1:03.78.