NEW HAVEN, Conn. (December 5, 2021) -- Sophomore Wondu Summa (Burlington, Vt.) won the 3000 meters, while sophomore Ryan Walker (Seabrook, N.H.) took first in the mile on Sunday, as the Franklin Pierce University men's track & field team opened its season at the Art Kaddish Elm City Challenge, hosted by Southern Connecticut State at the Moore Field House. The Ravens chalked up 86 points in the meet on the way to a third-place finish, out of eight teams. Franklin Pierce trailed only host SCSU (172 points) and New Haven (109) on the day.

In the sprints, sophomore Evan McNeice (Wethersfield, Conn.) led the way with a second-place finish in the 600 meters, with a time of 1:25.99. He was one of two point-scoring Ravens in the event, as Walker came home seventh in 1:29.17. Senior Devin Jones (Manchester, N.H.) added a fourth-place finish in the 200 meters, with a time of 23.34 seconds.

Walker came back in the mile, where he was victorious in 4:47, to head a one-two Franklin Pierce finish, as Summa took second right on his heels in 4:48. McNeice scored in the mile as well, with a sixth-place finish in 4:56.

It was success at the 3000-meter distance as well for the crimson and grey, where Summa chalked up the win in 8:59. He headed a trio of point scorers in the event, as sophomore Thomas Darrah (Thetford, Vt.) took fourth in 9:15, and senior Cody Tallent (Bellows Falls, Vt.) was seventh in 9:27.

On the relay front, Franklin Pierce took third in the 4x400-meter race, as a lineup of McNeice, Walker, Darrah and Summa put together a run of 3:40.

In the field events, the crimson and grey chalked up five scoring performances across a pair of throwing events. Junior Connor Everidge (Baldwinville, Mass.) picked up points in both, as he took fourth in the shot put (15.00m) and second in the weight throw (14.84m). The Ravens also took sixth through eighth in the shot put, in the form of senior Croix Albee (Trenton, Maine) at 14.66 meters, senior Armani Mette (Randolph, Mass.) at 13.96 meters, and sophomore Sal Lando (Sterling, Mass.) at 13.69 meters.

The Ravens also picked up one point-scoring performance in the jumping events as well. Sophomore Connor Nordmann (Bethel, Conn.) got up and over 3.80 meters in the pole vault, to place fifth.