Track and Field competes in NEC Championships Fri.-Sat. on Staten Island

CHAMPIONSHIP HEADQUARTERS - MEN | WOMEN

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – The Bryant University men's and women's track and field teams head to Staten Island, N.Y., to compete in the 2017 Northeast Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships at the Ocean Breeze Track & Field Athletic Complex.

The two-day championship meet begins on Friday morning and concludes on Saturday afternoon. Bryant was picked to finish eighth in the men's preseason poll, while the women were picked to finish ninth.

Bryant's women will look to its youth and its depth in the distance events this weekend. Freshmen Emily Cluck (Johnson City, N.Y.), Jacklyn Sullivan (Plymouth, Mass.) and Olivia Weiss (Newton, N.J.) all have a chance to make a big impact this weekend. Cluck is seeded 10th in the 200m dash and 11th in the 60m dash, while Sullivan enters the championships seeded second in the 800. Sullivan set the Bryant school record last week at BU. Weiss is seeded eighth in the mile.

The mile could be the Black and Gold's best event this week as junior Melissa Lodge (Hopkinton, Mass.) and senior Emily McNeil (Shelton, Conn.) join Weiss in the top eight seeds. Lodge's program-record time of 4:56.89, she is the first female in school history to break the 5:00 mark, is tied for the fastest time in the NEC this year. McNeil and Weiss are seeded seventh and eighth in the event.

Bryant will also look for strong performances from MiaLynne Park (Jewett City, Conn.), Melissa Hurwitz (Newton, Mass.), Jonee Harrison (Dorchester, Mass.) and its distance medley relay. Park is seeded 15th in the 400, Hurwitz is seed 10th in the 60m hurdles and Harrison is seeded third in the weight throw. The Bulldogs' distance medley relay quartet of Sullivan, Lodge, McNeil and Sarah Lapham (Greenwich, N.Y.) enter the week with the top seed and will look to medal.

On the men's side, Bryant's distance runners will once again need to shine. Richard Landry (Holyoke, Mass.) is seeded fourth in the mile, while Ryan Poholek (Attleboro, Mass.) and Alexander Evans (Bow, N.H.) join him and are seeded 12th and 14th, respectively.

Milan Duka (Belgrade, Serbia) is a former bronze-medalist in the mile but will compete in the 800 this weekend. He is seeded sixth. Matt McGovern (Long Beach, N.Y.) enters the weekend seeded ninth in the 3000 and the Bulldogs are hoping he can jump up and score points.

Like the women, Bryant's distance medley quartet of Duka, Landry, Christopher Wrenn (Norton, Mass.) and Poholek has a chance to medal this weekend. The Bulldogs are seeded fourth.

Deion Raper (Brockton, Mass.) and Brian Murray (Westford, Mass.) also could factor into the weekend as they are seeded 15th in the 200 and 13th in the 400, respectively.