MANSFIELD, Conn. -- Performing in front of its home fans in the first home track and field meet in the program’s 34-year history, the 2008 Eastern Connecticut State University men’s track and field team established 15 post-season qualifying times and set 20 personalrecords and one program record Saturday in a non-scoring meet with Colby Sawyer College.

The meet was the first collegiate one at the eight-lane Mansfield Outdoor Complex Track Facility, which was dedicated back on Sept. 13, 2005. Although Eastern had staged a handful of meets on area facilities since the program’s inception in 1975, Saturday’s meet was the first at its own “on-campus” facility.

More than 40 track and field alumni were present, with a number of them competing on an exhibition basis in the non-scoring meet. John Keleher, who coached the first three seasons of the program from 1975 through 1977, fired the starters’ pistol to kick off an Alumni Mile which involved a dozen former Eastern track and field competitors.

During the meet, seven Eastern competitors established a total of 15 qualifying times, heights and distances for next month’s New England and ECAC championships. In addition, 14 athletes posted a total of 20 personal records, with sophomore Gregory Dinas (Stamford) breaking his own record and qualifying for the ECAC and New England Open championships in the 110 meter hurdles with a time of 15.51 – 13 hundreths of a second faster than his former mark set last Saturday at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy Invitational.

Dinas won all four of the events in which he competed: the hurdles, high jump (6-2), long jump (20-3 ¾) and triple jump (41-2 ¼). Others capturing at least one individual title were seniors Archie Joseph (Livingston, NJ), Mike Curley (Branford) and Mykal Kuslis (Watertown); juniors Tyler Banville (Rockville) and Matt Pyne (Wallingford); sophomores Sam Buczek (Milford), and Chris Gemske (West Hartford), and freshman Ken Landry (East Hampton). Joseph won the 200 (22.19) and javelin (176-2), Curley the 1,500 (4:27.26), Kuslis the 400 hurdles (58.10), Banville the hammer (157-6), Pyne the pole vault (13-7 ¼), Buczek the 5,000 (16:39.57), Gemske the 400 (50.49) and Landry the 800 (2:04.47).

Joseph qualified for the New England Division III Championship in all three events in which he participated (200, 400 and javelin) and additionally, met the ECAC standard in the 200 and javelin with personal-best efforts.

Others qualifying for post-season competition were Banville in the hammer, Gemske in the 400, freshman Nick Furlani (East Lyme) in the 100 (11.40), and Kuslis and sophomore David Tignonsini (Vernon) (58.18) in the 400 hurdles. All qualified for the New England Division III meet, with Banville and Gemske also meeting the ECAC qualifying standards. Tignonsini qualified in his first try in that event.

Athletes establishing more than one personal record on the day were Banville in the hammer and discus (112-9), senior Andrew Brunswick (Middletown) in the hammer (120-8) and javelin (122-8), Dinas in the hurdles and long jump, Furlani in the 100 and 200 (24.30), Joseph in the 200 and javelin, and freshman Josh Styles (Branford) in the 100 (11.62) and long jump (17-3 ½).

Eastern also won both relays, taking the 4x100 in a time of 43.3 and the 4x400 in a time of 3:38.34. Kuslis and freshman Mike D’Elia (Windham) contributed to both winnings relays, while Joseph and Gemske also teamed on the former relay and Tignonsini and freshman Tony Marcelli (Plainville) on the latter.

Eastern competes at the Springfield College Invitational Saturday at noon in its final tuneup before the April 26 conference championship meet.