WILLIMANTIC, Conn. (April 21, 2017) – Six event wins and a school record added up to a second-place finish for the Franklin Pierce University men's track & field team on Friday at the Eastern Invitational, hosted by Eastern Connecticut State University. Elsewhere, at Princeton University, senior Dage Minors (Hamilton Parish, Bermuda) posted a school record in the 800 meters at the Larry Ellis Invitational.

Franklin Pierce finished the Eastern Invitational with 166 points to place second. The Ravens were just 27 points behind Bridgewater State, which tallied 193 points to win.

Still, the most impressive outing of the day for the Ravens came some three hours away on Friday, as Minors was busy tearing up the track at Princeton. He finished ninth in the 800 meters at the Larry Ellis Invitational, by laying down a school-record time of 1:49.39. The mark met the NCAA Championships provisional qualifying mark -- which Minors had already met earlier in the season -- and is just 39 hundredths of a second (0.39) off the automatic qualifying mark. The time is the fastest in both the Northeast-10 Conference and the East Region on the spring and is tied for first in New England, across all three divisions.

Meanwhile, back at ECSU, Franklin Pierce picked up another school record, courtesy of senior Mark Josselyn (Halifax, Mass.) in the hammer throw. He finished second in the event, with a throw of 47.91 meters, which currently ranks sixth in both the NE10 and the East Region.

Of the six event wins for the Ravens, four came by individuals on the track. In the 110-meter hurdles, it was junior Craig Telfer (Lebanon, N.H.) with a run of 15.93 seconds to win. In the 200 meters, sophomore Jaris Neville (Atlanta, Ga.) picked up a victory by posting a time of 22.90 seconds. In the 1500 meters, freshman Tyler Hayes (Kings Park, N.Y.) turned in a time of 4:10.95 to finish first. At the long end of the spectrum, it was a time of 15:58.61 to win the 5000 meters for junior Martin Gradijan (Lebanon, N.H.).

Franklin Pierce also picked up a win on the track in the 4x400-meter relay. A quartet of junior Adam Bryson (Lynn, Mass.), junior Joshua Ercolini (Woburn, Mass.), Gradijan and senior Jon Holmes (Albany, N.Y.) posted a time of 3:34.16 to finish first.

The remaining win for the Ravens was in the pole vault, where senior Mark Choiniere (Ballston Spa, N.Y.) got up and over 3.80 meters. The mark is currently tied for ninth in the NE10.

Elsewhere on Friday, sophomore Anthony Barinelli (Tewksbury, Mass.) took second in the 3000-meter steeplechase, with a respectable time of 10:38.91.

The Ravens return to the track on Saturday, April 22. Select members of the squad will be in action at the second day of the Larry Ellis Invitational at Princeton, while the remainder of the team will head for the George Davis Invitational in Lowell, Mass., hosted by the University of Massachusetts Lowell.

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).