SMITHFIELD, R.I. – The Warriors competed at the Bryant University Throws Competition on Wednesday afternoon at the Conaty Indoor Athletic Complex. The meet featured just three events, the shot put, weight throw, and discus. Eastern competed against several Division 1 teams, including Central Connecticut, Merrimack, New Haven, and host Bryant. The Warriors were joined by Division III teams Bridgewater State, Fitchburg State, UMass Dartmouth, and Southern Maine.
Section 1 of the men's shot put featured
Jovanni Couvertier (Naugatuck) and
Mike Prizio (Trumbull). In his first collegiate meet, Couvertier threw his farthest on his first attempt out of three, reaching 10.91 meters. He finished the day in 24th in a very competitive field. Prizio fouled on his three attempts and does not get credited with an official mark. Two more Warriors competed in section 2, first-year
Mark Boudreau (Oxford) and
Andrew Johnson (Portland). Boudreau's only legal throw was his first, hitting 12.79 meters and taking 17th overall. Johnson first throw of 14.25 meters qualified him for finals, earning the junior another three throws. He threw 13.28 on his fifth attempt, but fouled on his fourth and sixth, but his first throw of 14.25 landed him in 8th position.
The women's shot put gave three Warriors an opportunity to put themselves up against D1 opposition. The top-placed Warrior was newcomer
Morgan Powell, who had her best throw in her second attempt, hitting 8.79 meters for 15th place.
Sam Murphy (Rocky Hill) finished just one spot behind Powell, as her second attempt of 8.34 was over a meter farther than her first.
Chloe Hammer (Montville) was successful on all three of her attempts, with her first throw of 7.22 meters was her best of the day.
Three men competed in the weight throw for Eastern, as the first section featured
Jerron McNair (Hartford) and
Ryan Mays (Windsor). McNair set a personal best in his first attempt of the day. His first attempt of 11.52 meters beat his mark at the Art Kadish Elm City Challenge by 0.05 meters. Mays fouled on his three attempts and does not get credited with an official mark.
Ellis Thompson (Coventry) was the lone Eastern athlete to compete in the second section. The junior narrowly missed out on finals, as his second throw of 13.81 was just .4 meters behind the 9th and final spot. Thompson finished 11th overall.
The women's weight throw had both Warriors compete in the second of two sections.
Kimbrae Miller threw 10.82 meters in her second attempt, landing her 15th overall in her first collegiate meet.
Anaka Eaton (Coventry) was Eastern's highest finisher today, making finals after her first three throws. Her opening mark of 13.24 meters got her into one of the top 9 spots, but on her last attempt of the day, Eaton threw the weight 13.34 meters and solidified her third place position.
Prizio also competed in the men's discus, joined by his teammate Boudreau. For Prizio, his first throw was his best, hitting a mark of 33.13 meters. Boudreau set the new Eastern indoor discus record with his first and only legal throw of the day, throwing 36.58 meters (120 ft) for 14th place. Eaton and Powell also competed in the discus for the women's team, the second event of the day for the duo. Exactly 9 athletes had a legal throw through their first three attempts, so both Eaton and Powell got 6 attempts. On Eaton's 4th attempt, she threw over one meter farther than any of her other five throws, hitting a mark of 28.99 meters. Powell's best also came from her 4th throw, her's being an entire 3 meters better than any of the others. Her throw of 30.49 meters (100 feet) puts her in 6th overall in her first meet as a Warrior.
The Warriors are back in action on Saturday, January 17 at the University of Rhode Island Invitational. This meet will also offer a combination of teams across different divisions, testing the competing Warriors. The rest of the squad will join the throwers at URI , as last year's invitational offered a total of 34 events, split evenly between the men and women.
