MIDDLEBURY, Vt. (January 11, 2020) – Junior Hugo Arlabosse (Marseille, France) won three individual events and added a relay victory for good measure on Saturday, as he led the Franklin Pierce University men's track & field team to a meet victory at the Middlebury Winter Classic. The Ravens chalked up 147.5 points to take first place at the six-team meet by beating out second-place Plymouth State (129 points) and third-place Plattsburgh State (124.5 points).

Arlabosse opened his 2020 in style, as his name was all over the results page. He took first place in the 400 meters with a time of 50.80 seconds, in the 1000 meters with a run of 2:41.22, and in the mile by stopping the clock at 4:26.81. Arlabosse also ran the second leg on a 4x400-meter relay team which posted a winning time of 3:32.20. He was joined in the relay lineup by sophomore Riley Fenoff (Danville, Vt.), sophomore Ethan Pezzullo (Bristol, R.I.) and senior Trevor Guay (Londonderry, N.H.).

"Hugo had an epic day in winning four events, showing he's in fine form to run in the 800 meters at the University of Washington next week," said head coach Zach Emerson after the performance. "He has been accepted into the elite section of the event, and he'll have his eye on a return trip to nationals."

Franklin Pierce picked up meet victories on both the men's and women's sides on Saturday, a result that came as a pleasant surprise to the coaching staff.

"Being away from your teammates for so long, usually in the nasty winter weather and surrounded by the common distractions that come with being home for the holidays, is a less than ideal formula for our athletes to maintain their fitness," said Emerson. "So, for that many of our athletes to have returned back to campus for the New Year and immediately put in such a strong team performance against some quality programs, it was a lot of fun for the coaches to see and we couldn't be more proud."

In addition to Arlabosse's wins throughout the meet, the Ravens also got first-place finishes from Guay in the 500 meters, with a time of 1:08.28, and Fenoff in the 3000 meters, with a time of 9:03.77. It was all part of a day which saw Franklin Pierce collect 17 individual top-five finishes.

Arlabosse's win headed up a 1-2-3 finish for the Ravens in the 1000 meters. Fenoff took second in a time of 2:42.42, while senior Walker John (Boscawen, N.H.) placed third with a mark of 2:46.18. Meanwhile, Fenoff's 3000-meter win led three Ravens in the top five of that event, as graduate student William Rawson (Atherton, England) was second in 9:04.98 and freshman Zach Aham (Nottingham, N.H.) took fifth in 9:29.14.

Franklin Pierce also add multiple top-five finishers in the 60-meter dash, the mile and the shot put. In the 60-meter dash, freshman Harchdy Souffrance (Port-au-Prince, Haiti) was fourth (7.34), while senior Gerald Leith (Dorchester, Mass.) took fifth (7.35). In the mile, senior Tyler Hayes (Kings Park, N.Y.) added a fifth-place finish (4:38.62) behind Arlabosse's win. In the shot put, it was freshman Connor Everidge (Baldwinville, Mass.) in fourth (13.38m) and sophomore Croix Albee (Trenton, Maine) in fifth (13.36m).

Three other Ravens added top-five finishes as well. Sophomore Aaron Young (Colchester, Conn.) took third in the pole vault (3.80m), junior Antonio Rua (Burrillville, R.I.) placed fourth in the 800 meters (2:08.61), and freshman Lance Abella (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) was fifth in the high jump (1.80m).

The Ravens will be back in action on Saturday, Jan. 18, when the team travels to Lewiston, Maine, for the Bates Invitational. Select athletes will be headed to Seattle on Saturday, for the UW Indoor Preview, hosted by University of Washington.

For more information on Franklin Pierce Athletics, please visit the official website of Franklin Pierce Athletics (https://www.fpuravens.com). Also be sure to follow the Ravens through the Department of Athletics' official Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/FranklinPierceRavens), its YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/franklinpiercesports) and its Twitter feed (http://twitter.com/FPUathletics). Fans wishing to purchase Franklin Pierce track & field apparel can do so at the Department of Athletics' brand new online store (https://www.shopfpuravens.com).