SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (April 3, 2021) – Sophomore Armani Mette (Randolph, Mass.) opened the season in style for the Franklin Pierce University men's track & field team on Saturday, as he broke one of the program's oldest records, in the discus, at the Yellow Jacket Invitational, hosted by American International. The Ravens were in action in multiple locales on their opening day, as they competed at Southern Connecticut State's Wilton Wright Invitational in New Haven, Conn., as well.

Mette led the Ravens at the Yellow Jacket Invite (results), as he set a school record in discus, and also placed first in shot put. Mette took fourth in discus with a 41.92-meter mark, which was more than two meters better than the previous team record, which had been set in 2014, in what was only the program's second season of existence. In shot put, Mette recorded a 13.94-meter mark for first place. He beat out fellow Raven Croix Albee (Trenton, Maine) in both events, as Albee placed second in the shot put (13.51m) and fifth in the discus (40.38m). Albee added a top-five in the hammer for good measure, as he took fourth, with a heave of 38.80 meters.

The Ravens were not done collecting first place finishes in Springfield. Freshman Brogan Bonsaint (Somersworth, N.H.) picked up his first event win in javelin, with a 53.34-meter mark. Not far behind, in third place (46.23m), was sophomore Von Hayden (Monroe, Conn.).

Meanwhile, in the Elm City, Franklin Pierce found its footing out on the track at SCSU (results). Freshman Stephen Harris (Billerica, Mass.) competed in the 300 meters for the Ravens, earned a third-place finish and set a school record of his own, with a time of 34.82 seconds.

In the 600 meters, freshman Ryan Walker (Seabrook, N.H.) came in second with a time of 1:24.60 time. Sophomore Riley Fenoff (Danville, Vt.) finished the 3000 meters in third place with a time of 8:56.00. Fenoff doubled up on the day and turned in a top-five finish in the 1500 meters as well, where he ran a 4:01.11 to place fifth.

As a team Franklin Pierce finished the Yellow Jacket Invitational in fourth place with 66 points. At the Wilton Wright Invitational, the Ravens collected 24 points, which was good for fifth place.

The Ravens are scheduled to return to SCSU next weekend, for the James Barber Tri-Meet, on Sunday, April 11.