BOSTON (January 28, 2017) – Senior Dage Minors (Hamilton Parish, Bermuda) provided, by perhaps a significant margin, the seminal moment thus far in the five-year history of the Franklin Pierce University men's track & field program on Saturday at the John Thomas Terrier Invitational, hosted by Boston University. He ran the fifth-fastest 800-meter time in NCAA Division II history, qualifying himself for the NCAA Championship in the process.

Minors' second-place time -- the fastest in the country thus far this winter for Division II -- was a blistering 1:48.70, which was also, needless to say, a program record for Franklin Pierce in the 800 meters. The mark allowed him to become the first student-athlete in school history to meet an automatic qualifying standard for the NCAA Championships, which means his ticket is already punched to Birmingham, Ala. on March 10-11. Automatic qualifying marks are something of a rarity in general, making the moment an even bigger accomplishment for Minors. For contest, the NCAA Championships feature 17 events, and so far this season, across all 17, Minors' 800-meter run is just the 23rd performance to meet an automatic qualifying standard.

Still, Minors had more to come on Saturday at BU, as he also ran the lead leg for the 4x400-meter relay team, which turned in a 10th-place finish and another school record. Minors was joined by junior Nicholas Jacques (Westfield, Mass.), freshman Trevor Guay (Londonderry, N.H.) and senior Cory Cataldo (Tewksbury, Mass.) to put together a time of 3:19.52, which currently ranks second in the Northeast-10 Conference on the year.

Two of the three other members of the relay squad also notched meaningful marks elsewhere on the day as well. Jacques finished 43rd in the 400 meters, with a time of 50.26 seconds, which moved him into seventh in the NE10 in the event. Meanwhile, Cataldo placed eighth in the long jump (6.76m) and 28th in the 60-meter hurdles (8.60).

Three other Ravens improved their standing within the top-15 in the NE10 in events at the Terrier Invitational. In the triple jump, senior Cody Steed (Chichester, N.H.) finished ninth with a mark of 13.72 meters, which is good for seventh in the Conference. In the 200-meter dash, sophomore Jaris Neville (Atlanta, Ga.) placed 68th with a time of 22.57 seconds, which ranks 11th in the NE10. Behind Minors in the 800 meters, junior Adam Bryson (Lynn, Mass.) took 58th with a time of 1:57.70, which moved him to 15th in the league.

Also of note for the Ravens on Saturday at BU: freshman Domenic Branco (Pelham, N.H.) finished 20th in the shot put (13.83m), junior Joshua Ercolini (Woburn, Mass.) placed 56th in the 800 meters (1:57.41), senior Mark Josselyn (Halifax, Mass.) was 23rd in the weight throw (14.47m), and junior Rindal Pierre-Canel (Randolph, Mass.) placed 10th in the long jump (6.65m).

Franklin Pierce also had a pair of athletes at the Tufts Stampede on Saturday, competing in the heptathlon, as senior Alex Bonitto (Lynn, Mass.) took sixth (4004 points) in a nine-participant field, while junior Richard Finnegan (Bourne, Mass.) finished ninth (3336 points). Along the way, Bonitto posted event wins in the shot put (12.05m) and the 1000 meters (2:48.27).

The Ravens return to action on Saturday, Feb. 4, when they travel to Middletown, Conn. for the Wesleyan Invite.

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).