Ravens pile up seven top-five finishes

MEDFORD, Mass. (March 30, 2013) – Freshman Mike Abrams (Newark, N.J.) posted an 11.12 in the 100-meter dash and a 22.10 in the 200-meter dash, as he won both events to lead the Franklin Pierce University men's track and field team to a seventh-place finish at the Snowflake Classic, hosted by Tufts University at Dussault Outdoor Track. In all, Franklin Pierce recorded seven top-five finishes in the meet.

Of note for Abrams, aside from winning two events, was that he continued to lower his 100-meter dash time towards the NCAA Championship provisional qualifying standard (10.60), and is now just 0.52 seconds away, as well as just over three-quarters of a second off the automatic standard. His 100-meter dash time on Saturday ranks second in the Northeast-10 for the outdoor season.

Later in the day, Abrams also ran the anchor leg for the Franklin Pierce 4x100-meter relay team which finished fifth (43.36) and posted a time good for second in the Northeast-10 in the early portions of the outdoor campaign. An all-freshman lineup of Ryan Dionne (Amesbury, Mass.), Adam-Corey Rander (Bronx, N.Y.), Vincent Biunno (Montgomery, N.Y.) and Abrams got the baton around the track in a time which is just 2.16 seconds off the NCAA provisional standard.

Biunno had the next-best finish for Franklin Pierce behind Abrams, as he finished second in the 110-meter hurdles (15.58). His time is currently good for third in the Northeast-10.

The Ravens also had success in middle and long distances on Saturday afternoon. Sophomore Makopa Rugabirwa (Concord, N.H.) posted a pair of top-15s, led by a fourth-place finish in the 1,500 meters (4:02.58). He also placed 14th in the 800 meters, getting his time under two minutes for the first time on the season (1:59.92). Rugabirwa had company in the top-15 of the 1,500 meters, as freshman Colton Ham (Webster, N.H.) placed 14th (4:08.21). Junior Antoine Gisore (Concord, N.H.) rounded out the distance running highlights for Franklin Pierce with a fifth-place finish in the 5,000 meters (15:12.10).

A week ago, Rander threw down a triple jump mark of 13.32 meters to turn heads at Bridgewater State. While he couldn't quite match that on Saturday at Tufts, he did finish fourth in the event, with a jump of 13.15 meters.

Northeastern (110 points) edged out Tufts (104) at the top of the table to earn the team title at the meet. Bridgewater State (85.25), Harvard (56.5) and Brown (49) rounded out the top five. Fifth through ninth places were separated by just 5.75 points, as Franklin Pierce (47) narrowly missed out on a top-five finish.

The Ravens are back on the track on Saturday, April 6, at the UMass Lowell George Davis Invitational at the Cushing Field Complex in Lowell, Mass.

For more information on Franklin Pierce Athletics, please visit the official website of Franklin Pierce Athletics (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu). Also be sure to follow the Ravens through the Department of Athletics' official Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/FranklinPierceRavens), its YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/franklinpiercesports) and its Twitter feed (http://twitter.com/FPUathletics). Fans wishing to purchase Franklin Pierce track and field apparel can do so at the Department of Athletics' brand new online store (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store).