Amherst, MA --- The WPI men's track and field team turned in a number of standout performances at the UMass Lafreniere Commonwealth Outdoor Invitational on Saturday, highlighted by a victory in the steeplechase and multiple New England Division III qualifying marks. The Engineers also saw success at this weekend's Duke Invitational.
 
Senior Ryan Fischer (Merrimack, NH) led the way with a first-place finish in the steeplechase, clocking a personal-best 9:21.90 to claim the win. Freshman Drew O'Reilly (Syracuse, NY) added a sixth-place finish in the 5000m with a personal-best time of 15:09.99, also meeting the New England Division III qualifying standard.
 
In the middle-distance events, junior Everett Mosher (Chester, VT) took third in the 800m with a season-best 1:54.59, while graduate-student Avinash Bissoondial (Millbury, MA) placed fifth in the 1500m in 4:00.27.
 
Sophomore Daniel Kim (Orange, CT) recorded a personal-best 55.44 in the 400-meter hurdles to place ninth and qualify for the D3 New England meet. He later teamed with Koray Boybeyi (Reston, VA), Anthony Minichiello (Burlington, MA), and Gabriel D'Amour (Somers, CT) to finish seventh in the 4x400m relay at 3:24.39.

WPI's "B" squad of freshmen Theo Burrell (East Haddam, CT), Colin Squier (Douglas, MA), Will Kelley (Medford, MA), and Will Larsen (Chelmsford, MA) also nabbed a top-ten finish in the 4x4, placing ninth in 3:28.97.
 
In the sprints, sophomore Ajay Bellamy (Stratford, CT) and freshman Justin Serrecchia (Lakeville, MA) each set season-best times in the 100m dash, finishing 19th (10.99) and 21st (11.00), respectively, both meeting the D3 New England mark.
 
In the field events, sophomore Matt Richards (Peabody, MA) threw 53.17m to place second in the javelin, with senior Michael Neff (West Hartford, CT) finishing sixth (48.46m). Senior Matthew Catuccio (Trumbull, CT) tied for sixth in the high jump at 1.80m. Graduate-student Jarrett Gulden (Walpole, ME) ran 10:02.64 in the steeplechase, punching his ticket to the NED3 meet in 11th place.
 
Select members of the WPI men's track & field team also took on strong competition at the two-day Duke Invitational. Friday's action saw Brett Gerlach (Lock Haven, PA) place 12th in the high jump with a leap of 1.86m, while sprinters Sam Manteria (Wilbraham, MA) (11.09) and Alex Cole (Weymouth, MA) (10.98) finished 53rd and 44th, respectively, in the 100-meter dash.

On Saturday, Gerlach returned to compete in the triple jump, recording a mark of 12.92m for 30th place. The 4x100-meter relay team of Manteria, Cole, Ethan Schnyer (Nashua, NH), and Tristan Andrew (Newtown, CT) placed 9th overall in a swift 42.17. In the field, Gavin Fleck (Bend, OR) tied for 2nd in the pole vault with a 4.65m clearance, just shy of his season best. In the 200-meter dash, Schnyer (22.52) and Andrew (22.54) finished 64th and 65th, respectively.
 
WPI returns to action next Saturday at the Trinity Invitational in Hartford, CT.