Smithfield, RI — The WPI men’s track and field team had an impressive performance at the Bryant University Black & Gold Invitational on Friday and Saturday. The Engineers tied for fourth place overall, recording 21 top-10 finishes during the two-day meet.
Leading the way for the Engineers were runner-up finishes from Oliver Thomas (Goffstown, NH), Jarrett Gulden (South Bristol, ME), and the 4x800m relay team of Benjamin Steeves (Hollis, ME), Thomas Flanagan (Needham, MA), Owen Lally (Lebanon, CT), and Brian Brooks (Brewster, MA). Thomas made his outdoor debut with a second-place finish in the 400m hurdles in a time of 55.59, while Gulden notched a personal best and D3 New England qualifying time of 9:54.44 in the steeplechase. In the 4×800 the WPI foursome was second, topping the previous meet record with a time of 7:49.31.
Ryan Fischer (Merrimack, NH) was just behind Gulden in the steeplechase, recording a D3 New England qualifying time of 10:03.46 to place third overall. Also qualifying for the D3 New England meet, Axel Estavillo (Hudson, MA) shined in his collegiate 110m hurdle debut, taking fifth in 16.04.
It was a family affair in the 10,000m race, as brothers Logan Gaudette (Holden, MA) and Connor Gaudette (Holden, MA) finished third and sixth, respectively. Logan recorded a D3 New England mark with a 32:19.65, while Connor finished in 34:19.57.
Three WPI student-athletes notched top-10 finishes in the 5000m, led by Alex Simoneau (Attleboro, MA) who placed fourth in 15:30.96. Robby Doyle (Bethel, CT) was next across the line for the Engineers, taking ninth in 15:44.68, while Sean Corman (Waterford, CT) took 10th in 16:07.05.
Rounding out the track events were Lally and Brooks with top-10 finishes. In the 800m, it was a college personal best for Lally, who notched a 1:54.06 to place third place. Brooks was seventh in the 1500m, going 3:57.42.
In the field events, WPI rookies had a great showing in the javelin, with three top-10 finishes. Leading the way was a sixth-place ranking from Michael Neff (West Hartford, CT) with a D3 New England qualifying throw of 55.23m to take sixth. Also successful, Lucas Anthony (Lincoln, MA) was ninth with a 49.34m and Ben Furman (Groton, MA) was 10th with a 49.27m.
Four Engineers occupied top-10 rankings in the pole vault standings, led by a sixth-place finish from Will Pagliarulo (Bedford, NH) in 3.80m. Matt Gadziala (Clinton, NY) followed in seventh (3.80m), with Peter Allen (Acton, MA) in eighth (3.65m) and Chris Nguyen (Tewksbury, MA) in ninth (3.65m).
Wrapping up the field highlights, Andrew Sifferlen (Sudbury, MA) was eighth in the high jump (1.80m) and Isaac Frederique (Methuen, MA) was ninth in the long jump (5.97m).
WPI continues the outdoor season on Saturday, competing at the Springfield Invitational.
