By Adam Riglian

The men’s track ‘ field team competed in the non-scoring University of South Florida Invitational March 9 in Tampa.

“The goal was to get our sprinters a chance to run in the sun. Last season mother nature wasn’t too good to us,” said head coach Sherman Hart.

Seniors Conrad Dalton and Christian Tirella, junior Jonathan Watkins and sophomore Cord Parks all competed in the meet.

Dalton won the 400-meter in 48.76 seconds, with Tirella taking sixth with a 49.36.

Parks finished seventh in the 100-meter dash (11.29) and Watkins ran his way to ninth place (11.30).

The outdoor season begins Saturday, March 17 at the Hurricane Invitational in Miami, Fla.

“We really need to go down there and hammer out some fast times,” Hart said.

NU bypassed the Hurricane Invitational last season in favor of the Ram Invitational in Richmond, Va.

Hart said the meet is crucial for Parks and sophomore Ron Conway, who now have to split time between track and spring football. Qualifying early for the CAA championship is therefore important for them.

Northeastern ended its indoor season with the IC4A Championships at Boston University March 3 and 4, finishing 26th in the meet.

Dalton took third place in the 500-meter in 1:02.45, scoring six of Northeastern’s 12 points.

Accounting for the remainder was freshman Jordan Thull’s fifth-place finish in the pole vault (15-feet, 11-inches) and junior Bamidele Faboyede’s seventh-place finish in the weight throw (59-feet, 2.75-inches).