GORHAM, Maine – Senior Mike Olson (Sutton, Mass.) and the Plymouth State University men's 4x400-meter relay boosted the Panthers to a second-place team finish at the Husky Invitational hosted by the University of Southern Maine on Saturday afternoon.
 
Olson kicked off his day with a dominant showing in the 800-meter run with a season-best time of 1:57.55 to win the event by roughly six seconds.
 
To cap off the meet, Olson was joined by junior Jyaire Hatcher (Uniondale, N.Y.), sophomore Christian Oglesby (Penacook, N.H.) and freshman Josh Rebello (North Dighton, Mass.) to set a new program record in the 4x400-meter relay with a blazing time of 3:28.79 to take the win.
 
PSU took home second at the meet, falling just shy of Little East Conference (LEC) rival Southern Maine.
 
The Basics:

• Husky Invitational – 2nd of 11 Teams
  • Southern Maine (165), Plymouth State (124), Franklin Pierce (81), Keene State (32), Valor TC (32), St. Joseph's (29), UMaine Farmington (26), YCCC (20), Lehman (18), UMaine Fort Kent (10), UMaine Augusta (1)

How it Happened:

• The duo of sophomores Jacob Gallaher (Gambrills, Md.) and Connor Wilcox (Colchester, Conn.) took on the mile run, with Gallaher winning in 4:36.10 and Wilcox right on his heels in 4:36.85.
• Senior Michael Barrett (Hartford, Conn.) also competed in the event, taking third in 4:38.48.
• Oglesby represented in the 400-meter dash and placed fourth in 53.10 seconds.
• The trio of senior Colin Moar (Annandale, Va.), Rebello and Hatcher swept the top three spots in the 600-meter run with times of 1:25.56, 1:25.56 and 1:26.13.
• Olson won the 800-meter run after crossing the line in 1:57.55 and junior Ryan Moyer (Dover, N.H.) came in second with a time of 2:03.04.
• Senior Luke Gomes (Litchfield, N.H.) scored fifth in the 1,000-meter run in a time of 2:47.43, while classmate Brent Coope (Wolfeboro, N.H.) led the way in the 3,000-meter run with a third-place finish in 9:41.41.
• Freshman Luke Cloutier (Limerick, Maine) and senior Patrick Williston (Reading, Conn.) came in fifth and sixth with times of 10:04.23 and 10:21.57, respectively.
• The distance medley relay squad of Moar, Moyer, Gallaher and junior Rovanee Nickson (Concord, N.H.) won the event in 11:09.01, while the Panthers' second entry of Wilcox, Gomes and freshmen Dan Daschbach-Eaton (Exeter, N.H.) and Jackson Diglio (Goshen, N.Y.) placed second.
• The 4x400-meter relay broke the program record in the event with a winning time of 3:28.79.
• Senior Owen Billin (Meredith, N.H.) placed fourth in the triple jump with a leap of 12.29 meters.
• Freshman Bryce Harmon (Barrington, N.H.) and Brandon Parshley (Hollis, N.H.) placed third and fifth in the weight throw with season-bests of 11.27 and 10.48 meters, respectively.

 
Up Next:

• Plymouth State is back at home for the Panther Invitational II next Saturday (Feb. 4). Senior Day ceremonies will take place just prior to opening events at 11:00 a.m.