Ravens canvas top five in 60- and 200-meter dashes

NORTHAMPTON, Mass. (December 1, 2012) – The 4x400-meter relay team of Chaz Myers, Mike Abrams, Vincent Biunno and Adam-Corey Rander picked up a victory for the Franklin Pierce University men's indoor track and field team on Saturday in the team's season-opening meet, the Smith Indoor Track Winter Classic, hosted by Smith College. Franklin Pierce's sprinters were dominant on the afternoon, as the team had three of the top five finishers in both the 60- and 200-meter dashes.

The Ravens put together two of the top five teams in the 4x400-meter relay, which the "A" team ran in 3:29.16 to take home the victory. Just over 12 seconds later, the "B" team of Colton Ham, Chaz Munroe, Ryan Cross and Isaac Fithian took fifth place in a time of 3:41.36. It was not the only relay event which Franklin Pierce saw success in on the day, as it picked up a second-place finish in the 4x200-meter relay. Shawn DeCost, Robert Jean-Pierre, Ryan Dionne and Calvin Graves put together a run of 1:34.38.

The Ravens were equally impressive in the individual sprint events. In the 60-meter dash, Graves posted a time of 7.10 to take second place. He led a flotilla of Ravens as Abrams (7.21) and Dionne (7.25) were hot on his heels to take third and fourth place, respectively.

Meanwhile, in the 200-meter dash, Abrams ran a 22.97, which was identical to the winning time, though he finished second after being edged at the line by Webster Thomas of Connecticut College. Two more Ravens found the top five behind Abrams, as Biunno placed fourth in 23.59 and Dionne took fifth at 23.64. The final sprinter to post a top-five finish for Franklin Pierce was Jean-Pierre, who ran an 8.80 to finish third in the 60-meter hurdles.

In the middle distances, Sean Colford broke up a quartet of Amherst runners which all finished in the top five, as he placed second with a time of 2:39.62 in the 1000 meters.

Franklin Pierce would scatter athletes throughout the top five of a trio of field events on the afternoon. The highest finishes came from Jean-Pierre and Biunno, who finished second in the long jump and high jump, respectively. In the long jump, Jean-Pierre launched himself 6.25 meters, while Biunno cleared 1.92 meters in the high jump. Biunno had company, as Ian Goldwasser posted a 1.77-meter jump to finish fifth. The remaining top-five Franklin Pierce finish at the Winter Classic came from Sharaj Prince, who tossed a shot put 11.46 meters to finish fifth.

The meet was not scored from a team perspective.

The Ravens return to action on Saturday, Dec. 8, at the Harvard Indoor Track Open in Boston, 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).