Central Connecticut men’s and woman’s track team earned five first-place finishes at the Ramapo College Season Opener. In total, the Blue Devils earned 19 medals. Richard Grudzwick won the 1,000 meters (2:29.04) and Edwin Alston won the 60-meter hurdles (8.23). Hailey Rospierski won the 60-meter dash (8.41), Angie Rafter won the 1,000 meters (2:57.96) and Briyanna Labbie won the 500-meter dash (1:23.11). The times for Rafter and Labbie were both personal bests.

Heading into the season, the men were predicted to finish third in the Northeast Conference and received two first-place votes in the Preseason Coaches Poll. The women were predicted to finish fourth in the Northeast Conference and received one first-place vote in the Preseason Coaches Poll.

Robert Moore and Kevorni Welsh took the silver in the 5,000 meters (15:26.66) and long jump (6.79m) events respectively. The run was a personal best for Moore. In addition to this, the 4×400 meter relay team came in second place with a time of 3:25.25.  Jason Walton earned the bronze in the 400-meter dash clocking in at 51.04. In the men’s 800 meters, Ryan McCauley finished third crossing the finish line in a personal best time of 1:58.90.

In the 5,000 meter run, Kaitlyn Stevens ran a collegiate-best and finished second at 19:13.13. Teaira Edwards threw 13.86 meters in the weighted throw for second place, which improved her previous best by 2.36 meters. Danyelle Engels also earned second place in the shot put with a 10.76-meter throw.

During the Dartmouth Relays, the men and women team both finish third out of nine teams at the meet. The men earned third with 89 total points, Dartmouth University won the meet with 114 points. The women’s team earned a total of 50 points for third place. Dartmouth came in first place with 211 points.

The Blue Devils men’s team earned a total of six medals. Richard Grudzwick earned first place in the 800 meters run with a 1:54.57 time. A pair of Blue Devils came in first and second in the 60-meter hurdles, Edwin Alston (8.19) and Tyrik Henry (8.38). In the 4×200 meter relay, Central’s team finished first with a 1:30.73 time. Darius Wise finished in second place for the 60-meter dash (6.98).

The women’s 4×800 relay team won their event with a time of 9:38.37. Angie Rafter and Hailey Rospierski came in second place in their respective events. Rafter earned silver in the one-mile run, finishing the race with a 5:06.43 time. Rospierski finished the 60-meter hurdles in 8.97 seconds and came in third in the high jump (1.59 meters). Megan Brawner came in third for the 800-meter run with a time of 2:16.98.

The men will next be in action on Sat. 25th at John Thomas Invitational. The woman will also be competing at John Thomas Invitational but on Fri. 24th.