BOSTON, Mass. – Several personal best marks were attained, and a school record fell as the Regis College men's track and field team opened the 2019-20 season Saturday at the Emmanuel College Invitational at the Reggie Lewis Center.
JJ Pedersen (Milford, Conn.) continued his strong running from the cross country season, breaking the school record in the 5000 meter run as he finished in sixth place in the event. His time of 15:48.10 was almost 55 full seconds faster than the previous standard established four years and two days ago at the same facility.
Regis' highest placement of the day belonged to freshman AJ Corso (Broad Brook, Conn.) for finishing fourth in the 1000 meter run with a time of 2:45.27. Fellow newcomer Brett Kiesel (Rocky Hill, Conn.) opened his collegiate career with a sixth place finish in the 500 meter run in 1:09.74, plus he competed in the long jump, posting a top mark of 5.67 meters (18' 7.25").
Elsewhere on the track, Nicholas Sahagian (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) established a personal best time of 9:42.23 in the 3000 meter run. The combination of Kiesel, Ben O'Neal (New Britain, Conn.), Jacob O'Neal (New Britain, Conn.), and Corso completed the 4x400 meter relay in 14th place with a time of 3:49.18.
In the throwing events, Cole Anderson (Falmouth, Maine) finished seventh in the weight throw with a top toss of 13.32 meters (43' 8.5"), and Mark Dumas established an indoor personal best in the shot put at 12.09 meters (39' 8") to finish in 13th place. Angel Pagan-Rodriguez (Bayamon, Puerto Rico) notched personal best marks in both the weight throw at 10.00 meters (32' 9.75"), finishing in 21st place, and the shot put at 8.84 meters (29' 0").
Regis will begin the main portion of its indoor schedule after the New Year, starting Saturday, Jan. 11, at the Reggie Poyau Invitational hosted by Brandeis University in Waltham, Mass. For the first time, the indoor schedule will culminate in part with the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Indoor Track & Field Championships at Boston University's Track and Tennis Center Sunday, Feb. 16.