STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. (January 13, 2017) – Senior Dage Minors (Hamilton Parish, Bermuda) met the NCAA provisional and NEICAAA qualifying marks while winning the 800 meters on Friday, leading the way for the Franklin Pierce University men's track & field team at the St. Thomas Aquinas College Spartan Invitational. The 10 points for the win were part of a 43-point outing for the Ravens, who finished 11th out of 17 teams to score at the meet.

Minors' run was the definitive highlight of the day for the crimson and grey in Staten Island on Friday. The 800-meter time of 1:52.97 was good enough to win the event and chalk up 10 points for the Ravens. It also met the NCAA provisional qualifying mark in the event and is currently the fifth-fastest time in the nation. The run met the qualifying mark for the NEICAAA Championships as well, and currently ranks first in the Northeast-10 Conference on the season.

Minors was one of 11 Ravens to pick up points at the meet. Franklin Pierce also got another performance of distinctive note on Friday, courtesy of senior Mark Josselyn (Halifax, Mass.) in the weight throw. He picked up three points with a sixth-place heave of 14.86 meters. The number was good enough to allow Josselyn to break his own school record in the event and move to fifth in the NE10 on the year.

Five others picked up points in field events for Franklin Pierce, led by a pair of scorers in the pole vault. Sophomore Ryan Woolley (Wallingford, Conn.) placed ninth by clearing 3.65 meters to earn three points, while senior Mark Choiniere (Ballston Spa, N.Y.) also picked up three points by clearing 3.65 meters, to finish 11th. Also scoring in field events for the Ravens were senior Cory Cataldo (Tewksbury, Mass.), who took third in the long jump (6.47m) for six points; senior Cody Steed (Chichester, N.H.), who placed sixth in the triple jump (12.66m) for three points; and sophomore Robert Boardman (St. Johnsbury, Vt.), who tied for seventh in the high jump (1.78m) for one point.

Meanwhile, back on the track, four more Ravens picked up points to round out the scoring. Two had finishes which were notable within the NE10 as well: junior Nicholas Jacques (Westfield, Mass.) and senior B.J. Smith (Concord, N.H.). Jacques moved into a tie for sixth in the league in the 200 meters, as he ran a time of 22.68 seconds to finish sixth and earn four points, while Smith moved to ninth in the Conference in the 1000 meters, with a time of 2:37.15, which was good for fifth and earned four points.

The remaining points on the track came via junior Joshua Ercolini (Woburn, Mass.) in the 500 meters and fellow junior Martin Gradijan (Lebanon, N.H.) in the mile. Ercolini finished fourth in the 500 (1:07.91) to pick up five points, while Gradijan took seventh in the mile (4:30.89) to earn two points.

The Ravens return to action on Saturday, Jan. 14, when they travel to the Tigers All-Comers Meet, hosted by Roxbury CC in Boston.

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).