COMPLETE RESULTS
 
BURLINGTON, Vt.—The University of Hartford opened the 2012-13 indoor track and field season with a total of seven first-place finishes and 24 finishes in the top-three of an event at a dual meet against Vermont. Both Hawk squads finished second to the Catamounts, the men by a score of 85-54 and the women by an 89-41 count.
 
"We had an exciting start to the season at Vermont,” said head coach Stephen Walsh. “The team had a lot of outstanding marks and great wins on both sides.”
 
Walsh was particularly pleased with the performances of his freshmen, who accounted for a pair of first-place finishes and six other top-three results.
 
Opeyemi Osuntuyi paced a Hartford podium sweep in the women's 55-meter hurdles. The freshman posted a time of 9.31 seconds, followed by junior Rebecca Cheatham and senior Stephanie Hanson, who each crossed the finish line at 9.47.
 
Michael MacLean notched the other top finish for a Hartford rookie, taking the win in the 1,000-meters. MacLean stopped the clock at 2:37.39, finishing ahead of graduate student Wayne Lawrence, who finished second with a time of 2:38.79, and senior Robert Giuliani, whose time of 2:38.97 earned third place.
 
“The first collegiate track & field meet can be challenging,” commented Walsh, “but each of them performed well and put up some great marks, which is always nice to see this early in the season."
 
Elsewhere on the women's side, sophomore Tiffany Harrison picked up a victory in the 400-meter dash with her time of 1:00.34. The Hawks took second and third place in the 300-meter dash, with junior Rebecca Cheatham notching a time of 45.15 and freshman Kafesha Thomas crossing the line at 45.74.
 
Freshmen Aleixa Diaz and Maggie Fuller also grabbed top-three marks. Diaz covered 1,000 meters in 3:18.43 to take third place in the event. Fuller took second in the high jump, clearing a height of 1.50 meters.

Cheatham also teamed with seniors Natalie Bonham and Priscilla Appiagyei and freshman Alexandria Simon to take first place in the 4x400-meter relay with a time of 4:22.45, edging the Hawk squad of Osuntuyi, Harrison, Thomas and Fuller by just five-one-hundredths of a second.
 
In addition to MacLean in the 1,000 meters, the Hartford men brought home wins in the mile run, triple jump and 4x400-meter relay.
 
Junior Andrew Dwyer picked up the win in the mile, pacing the field with a time of 4:29.99. Freshman Charles Davis took third in the event, posting a mark of 4:33.40.
 
The Hawks also took first and third in the triple jump as junior Rashawn Providence took the win, getting out to a mark of 13.20 meters, and freshman Robert Peppers notched third with a 12.51-meter spot.
 
In the 4x400-meter relay, the Hawk foursome of Jared Casey, Gario Graham, Michael Iosebashvili and Eric Tahtamoni moved the baton across the finish line in 3:34.27 to earn the win. 
 
Graham and Casey also took spots on the podium in the 400-meter dash as Graham covered the distance in 53.47 while Casey did so in 53.58, good for second and third place, respectively.
 
Senior Ansumana Diggs notched a pair of top-three finishes. The Hartford sprinter took third place in the 55-meter dash with a time of 6.70 seconds and second place in the 300-meter dash with a time of 38.03.
 
Freshman Ryan Erland rounded out Hartford top-three results with a second-place finish in the long jump. Erland leapt 6.21 meters in his first collegiate meet to grab the runner-up spot.
 
The Hawks prepare for a busy weekend ahead as they will compete at the Southern Connecticut Tri-Meet December 7 before heading to Harvard December 8.