SAINTS POST SIX ALL-ECAC PERFORMANCES
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - Twelve student-athletes represented Emmanuel at the 2013 Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference (ECAC) Track & Field Championships. Springfield College played host to the two-day event at Blake Track. With a total of 1,400 student-athletes from 97 institutions competing, the Saints recorded six All-ECAC performances and three season-bests over the Thursday/Friday championships. The Bates College men and the Rowan College women captured the team titles.
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - Twelve student-athletes represented Emmanuel at the 2013 Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference (ECAC) Track & Field Championships. Springfield College played host to the two-day event at Blake Track. With a total of 1,400 student-athletes from 97 institutions competing, the Saints recorded six All-ECAC performances and three season-bests over the Thursday/Friday championships. The Bates College men and the Rowan College women captured the team titles.
Emmanuel kicked off the week with the men's 4x400 meter relay team competing on Thursday evening. The team of Ben Perdue (West Springfield, Mass.), Nathan Bruno (Lenox, Mass.), Ryan Thomas (Wakefield, R.I.) and Adam Julien (New Orleans, La.) captured 7th place with their new school record time of 3:19.62. The Saints' top-eight finish earned them All-ECAC medal honors.
Julien opened the Day Two events for Emmanuel on Friday afternoon as the Saints' first competitor in an individual event. Julien, a sophomore and Emmanuel's program-record holder in the 400 meters, was coming off his 8th place finish last weekend in the Division III New England Championships (49.49). He raced to his season-best time of 49.21 and earned 12th place overall.
Both Bruno and Thomas then took to the track for their 400 meter hurdle event. Bruno, who is ranked 3rd nationally and was coming off a win at the New England Championships, took second place with a time of 52.15. He was edged by Rowan's Demetrius Brooks, ranked No.2 in the country, who won the event with a 51.79 finish. Thomas finished in 8th place overall with his 54.74 time. Both Bruno and Thomas earned All-ECAC honors. This was Bruno's best ECAC finish and his second consecutive year with an All-ECAC performance in this event.
After about an hour of rest, Bruno would compete again as the anchor for Emmanuel's 4x800 meter relay team. Junior Chris Baker (Holden, Mass.) ran the lead-off leg, followed by freshman Tom Tallo (Lincoln, R.I.) and junior Patrick Callan (Pawling, N.Y.), before Bruno closed it out for the Saints. The squad cruised to their season-best, cutting two seconds off their time, for a combined 8:02.67 finish and 15th place overall.
The women's 4x800 meter relay was the final event of the day for the Saints. The team of Molly Metivier (Keene, N.H.), Chloe Egan (Burlington, Vt.), Julie Young (Derry, N.H.) and Meaghan Mauer (South Hadley, Mass.) was coming off a record-breaking performance last week at the New England Championships (9:55.69). The squad ran just two seconds off their record for a 9:57.01 finish.
Bruno will advance to compete in the men's 400mH at the NCAA Division III Track & Field Championships, beginning on May 23rd at the University of Wisconsin – LaCrosse. Thomas is currently ranked 23rd nationally and will hope to secure a spot in the top-twenty for nationals.