Bohi wins pole vault, second in javelin

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. (March 22, 2014) – The Franklin Pierce University men's track and field team picked up three wins in events of 1500 meters or longer and added four more victories in field events on Saturday, as part of a successful trip to the BSU Bears Invitational, hosted by Bridgewater State University, to open the outdoor portion of the schedule. Both freshman Dage Minors (Hamilton Parish, Bermuda) and sophomore Makopa Rugabirwa (Concord, N.H.) posted top-five finishes in both the 1500 meters and the 5,000 meters for Franklin Pierce.

Minors had among the most successful running days on the squad in his collegiate outdoor debut, highlighted by a win in the 1500 meters (4:06.07). Minors also placed third in the 5,000 meters (15.53.21) and had fellow Ravens join him in the top five of both events. Rugabirwa placed three spots and just over five seconds behind Minors in the 1500, as he finished fourth (4:11.88).

In the 5,000, Minors' performance, as well as everybody else's, was overshadowed by the work of junior Antoine Gisore (Concord, N.H.), who won the event (15:16.82). Gisore was just shy of 30 seconds (29.99) better than his closest competition, which came in the form of a fellow Northeast-10 student-athlete, Anthony Fierimonte of Assumption. Rugabirwa added a fourth-place finish in the 5000, finishing right on the heels of Minors (15:54.54).

Franklin Pierce also posted multiple top-five finishes in both the 10,000 meters and the 3000-meter steeplechase on Saturday. In the 10,000, freshman B.J. Smith (Concord, N.H.) finished third (33:15.69), while freshman Brian Dunleavy (Orange, Conn.) placed fifth (34:03.60). Sophomore Colton Ham (Webster, N.H.) (10:09.74) and freshman Jon Holmes (Albany, N.Y.) (10:18.21) went one-two in the steeplechase. The Ravens wound up taking four of the top five spots in the steeplechase, though that was in part because Franklin Pierce fielded six members of the eight-athlete race.

The Ravens were also able to pick up four wins in field events at Bridgewater State. Sophomore Vincent Biunno (Montgomery, N.Y.) took first place in the high jump (1.91m), sophomore Chris Bohi (Loudon, N.H.) won the pole vault (4.10m), freshman Cory Cataldo (Tewksbury, Mass.) was victorious in the long jump (6.31m) and freshman Cody Steed (Chichester, N.H.) nabbed the top spot in the triple jump (12.87m). Bohi also finished second in the javelin (51.97m), while Steed also placed fourth in the long jump (5.88m).

Franklin Pierce added five other top-five finishes on the day. Three came in field events: sophomore Ryan Dionne (Amesbury, Mass.) was third in the long jump (6.06m), sophomore Max Fanwick (Wilton, Conn.) was third in the pole vault (3.80m) and freshman John Delahanty (Long Beast, N.Y.) was fourth in the pole vault (3.65m). The remaining two both came in the 800 meters, as freshman Matt Carpenter (Gloucester, Mass.) finished second (2:04.15) and freshman Alex Bonitto (Lynn, Mass.) finished fifth (2:08.00).

The Ravens return to the track on Saturday, April 5, at the Yellow Jacket Invitational, hosted by American International College in Springfield, 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).