PLYMOUTH, N.H. (December 9, 2016) – A lights-out showing in the 800 meters, four wins and a pair of program records led the way on Friday for the Franklin Pierce University men's track & field team, which finished first (out of five teams) at the PSU Winter Classic, hosted by Plymouth State University.

The signature performance of the day for Franklin Pierce came in the 800 meters, where the Ravens had each of the top seven finishers and eight of the top nine finishers, in a near shutout of the event. It all added up to 38 points from just one event for the Ravens, who finished with 182.5 points on the way to winning the meet by nearly 40 points over second place and host Plymouth State (145.5 points).

Senior Dage Minors (Hamilton Parish, Bermuda) led the way for Franklin Pierce in the 800, turning in a facility-record time of 1:56.45 to take home the win. He was one of four Ravens to top the previous facility record in the event. Freshman Aidan Gilbride (East Kilbride, Scotland) was just over a second back, running a 1:57.56 to finish second, with junior Joshua Ercolini (Woburn, Mass.) just over another second farther back, running a 1:58.90 to place third.

Franklin Pierce picked up three other wins on the day, including two in field events and one in the track. In the weight throw, senior Mark Josselyn (Halifax, Mass.) set the program record for the second straight week, with a heave of 14.74 meters to pick up the win. Meanwhile, in the triple jump, fellow senior Cody Steed (Chichester, N.H.) turned in a hop, skip and jump totaling 12.71 meters to tally a victory as well. Back on the track, senior Cory Cataldo (Tewksbury, Mass.) snagged a win with a time of 8.55 seconds.

Josselyn's shot put mark was not the only school record on the day for the Ravens. Freshman Domenic Branco (Pelham, N.H.) laid claim to the program's shot put record, with a throw of 14.15 meters, which was good enough for second place. His mark was also second in the Northeast-10 Conference on the young season.

Sixth other Ravens turned in top-three finishes to help Franklin Pierce on the way to the team victory. Sophomore Robert Boardman (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) tied for second in the high jump (1.83m), senior Alex Bonitto (Lynn, Mass.) took third in the long jump (6.35m), senior Mark Choiniere (Ballston Spa, N.Y.) snagged third in the pole vault (3.70m), junior Nicholas Jacques (Westfield, Mass.) placed second in the 60-meter dash (7.18), junior Peter Murray (Tewksbury, Mass.) finished third in the weight throw (12.72m) and senior B.J. Smith (Concord, N.H.) was second in the 3000 meters (8:55.78).

The Ravens return to the track on Friday, Dec. 10, when select athletes travel to the Jay Carisella Invite, hosted by Northeastern University 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).