MIDDLEBURY, Vt. – Senior Mike Olson (Sutton, Mass.) paced the Plymouth State University men's indoor track & field team to a fourth-place team finish in his season debut at the Middlebury Snowflake Invitational at Virtue Field House on Saturday.
 
Olson, competing for the first time since an impressive cross country season, made his debut in the 800-meter run where he broke the two-minute barrier with a time of 1:58.78 to win the event.
 
Olson joined senior Colin Moar (Annandale, Va.), junior Jyaire Hatcher (Uniondale, N.Y.) and sophomore Christian Oglesby (Penacook, N.H.) in the 4x400-meter relay to snag another win for the Panthers with a time of 3:30.69.
 
PSU came in fourth overall, trailing NCAA Division I University of Vermont, NCAA Division II Franklin Pierce University and host Middlebury, which took seventh at last year's NCAA National Championship meet. Plymouth State held off Little East Conference (LEC) competitor Castleton.
 
The Basics:

• Middlebury Snowflake Invitational – 4th of 5 Teams
  • Middlebury (181), UVM (176), Franklin Pierce (118), Plymouth State (65), Castleton (42)

How it Happened:

• Hatcher, Oglesby and freshman Josh Rebello (North Dighton, Mass.) represented in the 400-meter dash and swept fourth through sixth places with times of 52.75, 53.27 and 54.77, respectively.
• Olson took home an individual win in the 800-meter run with a time of 1:58.78, while Moar placed third in 2:01.22.
• The duo of seniors Luke Gomes (Litchfield, N.H.) and Brent Coope (Wolfeboro, N.H.) placed sixth and seventh in the 1000-meter run in times of 2:46.24 and 2:47.75.
• Freshman Zach Hodge (Springfield, N.H.) made his collegiate debut in the 200-meter dash and placed eighth, crossing the line in 24.18 seconds.
• Sophomore Jacob Gallaher (Gambrills, Md.) demolished a career best in the 3000-meter run by roughly 43 seconds with a time of 9:05.10 to place seventh.
• The 4x400-meter relay team of Oglesby, Moar, Hatcher and Olson won the event with a time of 3:30.69.
• Freshman Nik Snyder (Pelham, N.H.) placed sixth in the long jump with a leap of 5.72 meters.
• Senior Owen Billen (Meredith, N.H.) jumped 12.45 meters to take second in the triple jump.
• Freshman Joel Newman (Natick, Mass.) and sophomore Camden Donovan (Andover, N.H.) both hopped a height of 1.65 meters in the high jump to finish seventh and eighth, respectively.

 
Up Next:

• PSU is home next weekend (Jan. 21) for the Panther Invitational I at the Bank of New Hampshire Field House. First events begin at 11:00 a.m.