Lodge wins 1500, claims two individual medals on final day of NEC Championships

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Junior Melissa Lodge (Hopkinton, Mass.) won gold in the 1500 and earned silver in the 5000 to lead the Bryant University track and field program on the final day of the Northeast Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships.

The men finished eighth with 22 points, while the women finished ninth with 54 points. Central Connecticut won the men's team title and Sacred Heart won the women's team title.

It was a historic day for Lodge as she picked up her second and third medals of the weekend, making her the most decorated athlete in a single meet in program history. Lodge won the 1500 with a time of 4:40.66, she won by four seconds, and then finished second in the 5000 with a time of 17:50.02.

The Bulldogs also saw freshmen Jacklyn Sullivan (Plymouth, Mass.) and Olivia Weiss (Newton, N.J.), and senior Jonee Harrison (Dorchester, Mass.) medal on Sunday. Sullivan and Weiss finished 2-3 in the women's 800, with Sullivan posting a time of 2:14.93. Weiss was right behind her at 2:15.60.

After becoming the first throw in program history to medal at the indoor championships, Harrison matched the feat in the outdoor championships. She earned a bronze medal in the hammer with a toss of 47.11m.            

Several other Bulldogs scored on the afternoon. Freshman Emily Cluck (Johnson City, N.Y.) finished sixth in the 100 with a time of 12.33, junior MiaLynne Park (Jewett City, Conn.) finished eighth in the 400 and senior Emily McNeil (Shelton, Conn.) finished seventh in the 1500.

On the men's side, senior Richard Landry (Holyoke, Mass.) and freshman Christopher Wrenn (Norton, Mass.) finished 6-7 in the 800.

Senior Milan Duka (Belgrade, Serbia) finished eighth in the 3000m steeplechase, posting a time of 9:57.92.

Senior Benjamin Jackson (Enosburg Falls, Vt.) set a personal record in the hammer on his way to a fourth-place finish. He registered a throw of 47.41m.

Sophomore Charles Buress (Westborough, Mass.) finished eighth in the javelin with a throw of 47.05m.