Abrams nets pair of personal bests

BOSTON, Mass. (December 7, 2013) – Sophomore Mike Abrams (Newark, N.J.) won the 200-meter dash and freshman Dage Minors (Hamilton Parish, Bermuda) won the 800 meters on Saturday, highlighting 11 top-five finishes for the Franklin Pierce University men's track and field team in its first meet of the season, the UMass Boston Indoor Open, held at the Reggie Lewis Center. Abrams posted a pair of personal bests at the meet.

The Ravens shone their brightest on Saturday in the 800 meters and the 5000 meters, featuring a trio of competitive runners in each. Franklin Pierce rang up three of the top five in the 800, led by Minors, whose 1:55.75 mark took first place. After conversion due to the size of the track at the Reggie Lewis Center, the time will rank second among opening weekend times in the Northeast-10, and is just under two seconds off the NCAA Championships provisional qualifying standard in the event. Behind Minors, freshman Jon Holmes (Albany, N.Y.) took third (1:58.48) and freshman Matt Carpenter (Gloucester, Mass.) placed fifth (2:00.06). Holmes' time is fourth in the Northeast-10 in the season's early stages.

Elsewhere, the Ravens put three in the top seven spots in the 5000 meters, led by junior Antoine Gisore (Concord, N.H.), who earned All-New England and USTFCCCA All-East Region accolades in the event a year ago. On Saturday, Gisore notched a 15:01.80 to finish third and post the second-fastest time among Northeast-10 competition on the weekend. Behind Gisore, freshman B.J. Smith (Concord, N.H.) finished fifth (15:30.83), while sophomore Makopa Rugabirwa (Concord, N.H.) placed seventh (15:39.46).

Meanwhile, Abrams was busy putting up a pair of personal bests in sprint events on the season's opening weekend. In the 60-meter dash, he ran a 7.04 in his preliminary heat -- third-fastest thus far in the Northeast-10 -- to post the top qualifying time. However, Abrams committed a false start in the 60-meter final and thus would not place in the event. Abrams stayed in the blocks until the gun in the 200-meter dash and fired off a 22.15 to finish first. The time is the second-fastest in the Northeast-10 and, after conversion, is just a quarter-second off the NCAA Championships provisional qualifying standard.

In the 3000 meters, sophomore Ryan Cross (Suffern, N.Y.) ran a 9:21.60 to finish fifth. In the 60-meter hurdles, freshman Cory Cataldo (Tewksbury, Mass.) qualified seventh in the preliminaries and then ran a 9.05 in the final to finish eighth. Finally on the track, Franklin Pierce's 4x400-meter relay squad placed third with a time of 3:27.14.

Freshman Gabe Carter (Quebec City, Quebec) had the highest finish in field events by placing third in the triple jump after posting a mark of 13.37 meters. Behind him, freshman Cody Steed (Chichester, N.H.) placed fifth at 12.92 meters. In the pole vault, sophomore Chris Bohi (Loudon, N.H.) finished fourth at 3.70 meters, the fourth-highest vault on the Northeast-10's opening weekend.

The meet was not scored from a team perspective.

The Ravens return to action on Saturday, Dec. 14 at the Jay Carisella Invite, hosted by Northeastern.

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).