BOSTON (December 10, 2016) – Senior Dage Minors (Hamilton Parish, Bermuda) of the Franklin Pierce University men's track & field team led the way for the Ravens on Saturday, as he posted an NEICAAA qualifying mark in the 1000 meters and anchored a second-place 4x400-meter relay at the Jay Carisella Invite, hosted by Northeastern.

The Ravens sent select athletes to Northeastern on Saturday, after the full squad was in action on Friday at Plymouth State, but still put together plenty of notable performances. Minors led the way for Franklin Pierce, including a time of 2:25.04 in the 1000 meters, which is the best time in the Northeast-10 Conference by over 10 seconds on the young season. The time was good enough for second place and qualified Minors for the NEICAAA Championships in the event.

Minors also ran the anchor leg of the Ravens' 4x400-meter relay, which also finished second. A quartet of freshman Trevor Guay (Londonderry, N.H.), senior Cory Cataldo (Tewksbury, Mass.), freshman Aidan Gilbride (East Kilbride, Scotland) and Minors took the baton for a lap each and turned in a time of 3:23.94.

Much as it did in the 800 meters on Friday at Plymouth State, Franklin Pierce took ownership of the mile on Saturday at Northeastern. Ravens took the second through fifth positions in the event, including the NE10's top time so far on the season, which was a mark of 4:19.71, turned in by Gilbride, who placed second. Senior B.J. Smith (Concord, N.H.) is now ranked third in the Conference, after finishing third in 4:22.96. Freshman Jeff Reddy (Chester, N.H.) followed in fourth at 4:24.25, while freshman Tyler Hayes (Kings Park, N.Y.) took fifth in 4:26.58.

Minors was not the only Raven to qualify for the NEICAAA Championships on the day, as junior Rindal Pierre-Canel (Randolph, Mass.) secured his spot in the long jump. He turned in a leap of 6.83 meters to finish third. Behind Pierre-Canel, Cataldo took fourth in the long jump at 6.82 meters, which also met the qualifying mark, though Cataldo had already qualified earlier in the season. Elsewhere in field events, senior John Delahanty (Long Beach, N.Y.) took third in the pole vault, by clearing 4.20 meters.

Back on the track, junior Joshua Ercolini (Woburn, Mass.) took third in the 500 meters, with a time of 1:06.83. In the 60-meter hurdles, senior Mark Choiniere (Ballston Spa, N.Y.) turned in a preliminary time of 8.94 seconds, which was the eighth-fastest heat time and advanced him to the final, where he ran an 8.76 to finish seventh. In the 200-meter dash, sophomore Jaris Neville (Atlanta, Ga.) placed eighth, with a time of 22.83 seconds.

The Ravens return to the track on Sunday, Jan. 8, at 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).