EASTON, Mass. (May 6, 2017) – The 4x800-meter relay team took home the Northeast-10 Conference title on Saturday, to lead the way for the Franklin Pierce University men's track & field team on the first day of the NE10 Championships, hosted by Stonehill College. In all, the Ravens had seven scoring performances on Saturday and sit fourth, out of 11 teams, after the first day of the meet.

In addition to the relay victory, six Ravens scored across four different events, as Franklin Pierce picked up 30 points on Saturday. Southern Connecticut State has already distanced itself from the field up top, as the Owls racked up 72 points for a 23-point lead over second-place Stonehill (49 points). American International (33 points) is just three points in front of Franklin Pierce in third, while the Ravens are five points clear of fifth-place Merrimack (25 points).

Franklin Pierce did the most damage on Saturday in the 4x800-meter relay, which picked up 10 points for taking home the conference crown. A quartet of senior Jon Holmes (Albany, N.Y.), freshman Tyler Hayes (Kings Park, N.Y.), junior Joshua Ercolini (Woburn, Mass.) and senior Dage Minors (Hamilton Parish, Bermuda) turned in a time of 7:39.02, to narrowly edge out Stonehill (7:39.68) at the finish line.

The Ravens had two athletes score in both the long jump and the pole vault, which chalked up another 15 points. In the long jump, junior Rindal Pierre-Canel (Randolph, Mass.) finished second (6.82m) for eight points, while senior Cory Cataldo (Tewksbury, Mass.) placed fifth (6.59m) for four points. Pierre-Canel's mark was good enough to move him into a tie for fourth in the East Region.

Meanwhile, in the pole vault, senior John Delahanty (Long Beach, N.Y.) cleared 4.01 meters to finish seventh and earn two points. Junior Richard Finnegan (Bourne, Mass.) was right behind him and picked up one point with an eighth-place finish by clearing 3.86 meters.

Two other Ravens combined for the remaining five points on the day for Franklin Pierce. In the hammer throw, senior Mark Josselyn (Halifax, Mass.) posted a throw of 46.92 meters to finish sixth and pick up three points. In the 10,000 meters, freshman Jeff Reddy (Chester, N.H.) chalked up two points by placing seventh with a time of 32:49.90.

Franklin Pierce also had five performances in preliminary heats on Saturday which were good enough to qualify for finals on Sunday. Junior Nicholas Jacques (Westfield, Mass.) did so twice, as he advanced to the final in both the 100- and 200-meter dashes. In the 100, he moved to ninth in the East Region with a time of 10.91 seconds, which was second in his heat and ranked sixth overall. In the 200, he won his heat and ranked third overall with a time of 22.00 seconds, which is currently good for seventh in the East Region.

Joining Jacques in the final of the 200-meter dash will be sophomore Jaris Neville (Atlanta, Ga.). He turned in a time of 22.01 seconds, which was second in his heat, seventh overall and is tied for ninth in the East Region.

In addition to scoring in the long jump, Cataldo also advanced to the final of the 110-meter hurdles. He qualified fifth by finishing third in his heat, with a time of 15.26 seconds, which currently ranks eighth in the East Region. Cataldo will be joined in the 110-meter hurdles final by junior Craig Telfer (Lebanon, N.H.), who was fourth in his heat and seventh overall, with a mark of 15.52 seconds.

The NE10 Championships will conclude on Sunday.

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).