Holmes, Smith notch season bests

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. (January 15, 2016) – The Franklin Pierce University men's track & field team had multiple athletes earn points in the 800 meters, the mile and the long jump on Friday at the Spartan Regional Invite, hosted by St. Thomas Aquinas. In all, the Ravens collected 47 points to finish 10th out of 19 teams, as well as fourth out of 12 Division II teams at the meet.

The Ravens, who fielded only a partial squad at Friday's meet, had a trio of competitors collect eight points apiece, accounting for just over half the team's point total on the day. Junior Jon Holmes (Albany, N.Y.) posted a season best in the 800 meters, as he ran a 1:56.29 to finish second among Division II competitors, with a time which currently ranks eighth in the Northeast-10 Conference. In the 60-meter hurdles, it was sophomore Craig Telfer (Lebanon, N.H.) who earned the octet of points for Franklin Pierce, by finishing fourth with a time of 8.67 seconds. Meanwhile, in field events, graduate student Andre Wooten (St. Charles, Mo.) was second among D-II athletes in the triple jump, with a mark of 14.30 meters.

The Ravens had three others earn points in field events at the meet. In the long jump, sophomore Rindal Pierre-Canel (Randolph, Mass.) finished fourth among Division II competitors, while junior Cory Cataldo (Tewksbury, Mass.) was sixth. The former leaped 6.52 meters to earn five points, while the latter checked in at 6.45 meters to pick up three points. Elsewhere, in the high jump, freshman Robert Boardman (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) earned five points by clearing 1.75 meters to finish eighth.

Franklin Pierce rounded out its scoring with three different point-getters on the track. Of the trio, two competed in the mile, with senior Colton Ham (Webster, N.H.) finishing fifth among D-II athletes for four points and junior B.J. Smith (Concord, N.H.) placing seventh for two points. The former stopped the clock at 4:22.75, while the latter ran a season-best 4:26.88 and now ranks ninth in the Northeast-10. Also on the track, junior Matt Carpenter (Gloucester, Mass.) turned in an 800-meter time of 1:59.64 to place fifth and pick up four points.

At the team level, Rider collected 209 points to take home the team title, while American International finished first among Division II institutions with 95 points.

The Ravens return the full squad to action on Saturday, Jan. 16, when they travel to the Plymouth State Invitational in Plymouth, N.H.

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).