Tuesday, May 21, 2002

SEVEN GREYHOUNDS HEADED TO TRACK & FIELD NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP MEET

BETHLEHEM, PA --- The Moravian College women's track and field team will be sending seven student-athletes, five of them seniors, to the 2002 NCAA Division III National Championship Meet to be hosted by Macalester College in St. Paul, MN, Thursday, May 23rd until Saturday, May 25th.

The Greyhounds, who have won the last ten Middle Atlantic Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships, will have three competitors on the first day of competition. Seniors Heidi Wolfsberger (Moosic, PA/Riverside HS) and Erin Boyle (Philadelphia, PA/Nazareth Academy HS) will run ion the 1,500-meter trails at 5:00 p.m. central time while senior Kim Jaick (Coopersburg, PA/Southern Lehigh HS) will compete in the finals of the 10,000 meters at 6:40 p.m. central time. Wolfsberger, a four-time All-American in the 1,500 meters, enters the meet ranked seventh in the field with a time of 4:38.70 while Boyle is 13th with a qualifying time of 4:39.23. Jaick is seeded 14th in the 10,000 meters with a qualifying time of 32:32.0.

On Friday, Moravian will have just one competitor in action with senior Emily Shertzer (Hummelstown, PA/Lower Dauphin HS) competing in the first-ever 3,000-meter steeplechase championship at 6:30 p.m. central time. Shertzer, who is seeded seventh with a qualifying time of 11:01.0, was an automatic qualifier in the 10,000 meters but decided to focus on the steeplechase.

The final day competition will begin with sophomore Christina Scherwin (Denmark) and senior Jennifer Lohn (Media, PA/Penncrest HS) competing in the javelin finals at 11:00 a.m. central time. Scherwin enters the competition with the best throw in the country this season on any level and the 25th best throw in the world at 55.99 meters (183 feet, nine inches). She will have a chance to break the NCAA Division III Meet record of 46.23 meters (152 feet, two inches). Lohn is seeded 15th with a qualifying throw of 40.34 meters (132 feet, four inches). Scherwin will also be competing in the shot put finals at 2:30 p.m. central time after qualifying in 15th place with a throw of 13.35 meters (43 feet, 9 ¾ inches). 

Freshman Kirsten Rotzell (Bangor, PA/Bangor HS) will compete in the triple jump finals at 11:30 a.m. central time on Saturday. Rotzell is seeded 12th in the event with a qualifying leap of 11.65 meters (38 feet, 2 ¾ inches). The final event for the Greyhounds would be the finals of the 1,500 meters at 1:50 p.m. central time in Wolfsberger and Boyle qualify for the finals.

For any of the student-athletes to earn All-American honors, they must finish in the top eight of their event.

To get more information on the 2002 NCAA Division III National Championships, visit the Macalester College website at http://www.macalester.edu/athletics/ncaa/index.html.