Men's Indoor Track & Field Picked 11th in Coaches' Poll

The Central Connecticut men's indoor track & field team was selected eleventh in the Northeast Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll, released today. The Blue Devils finished 10th out of 11 teams at last year's NEC Indoor Track & Field Championships.

Monmouth was selected to finish first by the coaches, receiving eight first place votes. The Hawks were runners-up in last season's indoor championships after winning the NEC Meet for three consecutive years. Sacred Heart, last year's NEC Champion, received the other four first place votes and was picked second overall in the poll.

St. Francis (PA), Long Island and Robert Morris round out the top five in the poll, while FDU, Mount St. Mary's and Quinnipiac represent the six through eight spots. Wagner and NEC newcomer Bryant just beat out the Blue Devils, and hold the nine and ten positions, respectively. St. Francis (NY) was picked behind CCSU, coming in 12th.

The Blue Devils return all but one top ten finisher at last year's NEC Championships. Junior RJ Simeone and senior Matt Whalen finished in fifth and sixth, respectively, in the 800m run a year ago. Simeone posted a time of 1:57.86, while Whalen came in at 1:59.28. Senior Sean Smith placed eighth in the 60m dash, crossing the line in 7.092 seconds. Senior Clinton DePaolo was also in the top ten, finishing ninth in the 60m hurdles with a time of 8.81 seconds.

CCSU will first be competing at the Yale Invitational on Saturday January 10.