LAWRENCEVILLE, N.J. – Led by senior Torey Doaty's pair of wins, the Hawks earned individual victories in the 400m hurdles and 3000m steeplechase and swept all three relays as the Saint Joseph's men's track and field squad turned in a second-place team finish in a field of 13 squads at the Rider Invitational on Saturday. The Hawks turned in 106 points on the day.
Doaty cruised through the 400m hurdles in an IC4A-qualifying time of 53.86 , his second-fastest time of the season, to claim the title in the field of 23. Doaty also won the 400m hurdles at the Colonial Relays last weekend.
In his first collegiate 3000m steeplechase, sophomore Justin Branco won the event in 9:47.01, edging out Central Connecticut's Brendan Callahan by 8.11 seconds for the title.
Freshman David Bryant, sophomore Jake Wolfe, senior Kevin Barry, and junior Kenny Evely won the 4x100m relay (43.15) while freshman Joey Angelina, sophomore Keelan O'Reilly, freshman Colin Parker, and sophomore Will Sponaugle claimed the 4x800m relay title in 8:12.41.
SJU's 4x400m relay went 1-2, as the 'A' group of Doaty, junior David Henderson, Evely, and junior Barren McCoy took it home in 3:20.70 and the runner-up group of freshman Aaron Lemma, senior Brandon Ossont, freshman Will Davies, and Barry clocked in at 3:25.22.
SJU's two individual champions and three first-place relay groups earned 50 combined points for the Crimson and Gray.
Also competing in their first collegiate 3000m steeplechase races, sophomore Tommy Higley (10:03.18) and freshman John Walker (10:08.96) placed fourth and fifth, respectively; alongside Branco's scoring performance, the Hawks saw 19 points come from the steeple.
In the 100m, Bryant won his heat to place second among Division I runners and seventh overall (11.23 PR) in a field of 40 for eight points for the Crimson and Gray, while in his first collegiate 400m, classmate Trae' Robinson turned in the fastest performance by a rookie (49.62), which was good for third among Division I competitors and fourth overall in a field of 37 for six points.
In his first race since cross country season, sophomore Shawn Hutchison clocked in with a 5k time of 15:34.85 for fifth overall and six points, while Sponaugle's collegiate-best 1500m time of 4:01.99 earned fourth overall for five points.
Also of note, junior Jake Durante-Koller placed third in a field of 28 in the unscored 5000m (16:16.86 PR).
Saint Joseph's returns to action next weekend at both the Widener Invitational, to be held at Widener's Leslie C. Quick Jr. Stadium in Chester, Pa., and the Larry Ellis Invitational, to be held at Princeton's Weaver Stadium in Princeton, N.J. Both meets run Friday, April 21 through Saturday, April 22.
