SMITHFIELD, R.I. – The Bryant University track and field wrapped up the 2011 Northeast Conference Championships with a number of strong individual performances Sunday afternoon in West Long Branch, N.J.
After qualifying for the finals on Saturday, Scott Twardowski (Rehoboth, Mass.) and Ryan Busby (Derry, N.H.) carried the Bulldogs on the final day with a fifth and eighth-place finish, respectively, in the 1500m event. Twardowski finished the race in three minutes and 58.66 seconds, while Busy crossed the finish line in four minutes and 2.45 seconds. The tandem combined to pick up five of Bryant's nine total points on the men's side.
The 4x100m relay squad of Michael Arons (West Hartford, N.Y.), Michael DiBella (Upper Saddle River, N.J.), Joseph Pugliano (West Springfield, Mass.) and Kyle Reid (North Raynham, Mass.) raced to an eighth-place finish in the finals, scooping up another point for the Black and Gold with a time of 43.32 seconds.
Also highlighting the final day of competition was the 4x400m relay lineup of DiBella, Anthony Monteiro (Leominster, Mass.), Reid and Pugliano. As the Bryant quartet claimed sixth in the final heat with a time of 3:19.51, good enough for three more points for the Black and Gold.
On the women's side, Bryant was unable to register any points but received several strong performances. Most notably, in the field, as Katelyn Keller (Wrentham, Mass.) and Allison Pavao (Swansea, Mass.) both finished 11th overall in their respective events. Keller tossed the women's discus 36.16m while Pavao hurled the javelin 33.09m.
On the women's side, Monmouth pulled away midway through the day and cruised to its third consecutive team title at the 2011 NEC Women's Outdoor Track & Field Championships. The host Hawks tallied 185 points, out-scoring runner-up Sacred Heart by a 53-point margin. Long Island, which has won the last two NEC Indoor team titles, took third in the standings with 126 points.
In the men's field, history repeated itself on the Jersey Shore-based campus of Monmouth University. Having never lost a conference competition on its home turf, the Hawks held on to outlast Robert Morris for first place in the team standings at the 2011 NEC Men's Outdoor Track & Field Championships. The host Hawks tallied 143.50 points compared to 133 for the runner-up Colonials
The Bulldogs will wrap up their 2011 campaign May 13-14 at the New England Championships in New Haven, Conn.
