Ravens have three score points in 3000 meters

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (December 11, 2015) – Junior Dage Minors (Hamilton Parish, Bermuda) and graduate student Andre Wooten (St. Charles, Mo.) both met NCAA provisional qualifying times on Friday to lead the Franklin Pierce University men's track & field team on the second day of the Elm City Challenge, hosted by Southern Connecticut State. Across the two-day event, the Ravens collected 87 points to finish third in the six-team meet.

Wooten did his damage in the triple jump, where he added a half-meter to his season-opening mark from last week. He posted a hop, skip and jump of 14.76 meters on Friday, which was good for second place, met the NCAA Championships provisional qualifying standard and earned eight points for the Ravens.

Meanwhile, Minors posted his NCAA provisional mark -- and met the NEICAAA Championships qualifying mark in the process -- in the 800 meters. He clocked in at 1:52.06 to win the event and earn 10 points for the team, with a time which will be reduced to a 1:50.48 after conversion, as the meet took place on a flat track (NCAA qualifying standards are based on times run on a banked track). The converted mark is the best thus far in the Northeast-10 Conference and just 1.24 seconds off the NCAA Championships automatic qualifying standard.

Minors also competed in the 3000 meters on Friday at the James W. Moore Field House, where the Ravens had three point-scorers to round out the team's scoring on the day. Junior B.J. Smith (Concord, N.H.) led the way in second place, with a time of 8:47.38, to earn eight points. Minors picked up four points, as his 9:10.15 was good for fourth place. Sophomore Zane Robidoux (Goffstown, N.H.) took sixth in 9:14.57 to pick up one more point.

Combined with Thursday's results, it all added up to 87 points and a third-place finish for Franklin Pierce. The Ravens were 13 points behind second-place American International (100 points), while host SCSU rang up 148 points to post a convincing victory.

The Ravens return to action after the semester break, on Sunday, Jan. 10, when they travel to the Dartmouth Relays in Hanover, 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).