NORTHAMPTION, Mass. (February 17, 2018) – Sophomore Jeff Reddy (Chester, N.H.) posted an impressive second-place finish in the 5000 meters on Saturday to lead the way for the Franklin Pierce University men's track & field team on the first day of the Northeast-10 Conference Championships. The two-day meet is being held on the campus of Smith College, and hosted by American International College.

Through the first day of competition, the Ravens sit fourth out of 10 scoring teams after amassing 13 points on Saturday. Southern Connecticut State (64 points) leads the way after the first day, with host AIC (45.5 points) in second and Stonehill (32.5 points) rounding out the top three, in front of Franklin Pierce.

Reddy was the star of the show for the Ravens on day one. He laid down a time of 14:56.57 in the 5000 meters to finish second, pick up eight points and impress everyone, including his own head coach.

"Reddy showed the experience of a battle-hardened veteran," said head coach Zach Emerson. "He ran a race that all of Raven Nation can be proud of. This kid has a very bright future, and with his natural instincts in championship races, it's only a matter of time until he wins an individual conference title."

Franklin Pierce's remaining five points on the day came courtesy of the distance medley relay team, which turned in a time of 10:19.63 to finish fourth and earn five points. The lineup consisted of sophomore Tyler Hayes (Kings Park, N.Y.), sophomore Trevor Guay (Londonderry, N.H.), senior Joshua Ercolini (Woburn, Mass.) and freshman Hugo Arlabosse (Marseille, France).

The Ravens are assured of at least some points on Sunday as well. Junior Jaris Neville (Atlanta, Ga.) competed in the preliminary heats of the 200-meter dash, where he put together a time of 22.29 seconds. The time was the seventh-fastest of the heat times, which was good enough to qualify him for Sunday's eight-runner final.

Elsewhere, senior Daniel Warner (Windham, N.H.) did not score, but turned in a personal-best time of 8.92 seconds to finish 13^th in the 60-meter hurdles.

The NE10 Championships wrap up on Sunday at Smith College.

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).