Wednesday, March 5, 2008

MORAVIAN TO SEND 21 STUDENT-ATHLETES TO COMPETE AT
2008 ECAC DIVISION III INDOOR TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS

CAMBRIDGE, MA --- Moravian College has qualified 21 student-athletes, 13 males and eight females, to compete at the 2008 Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference Division III Indoor Track & Field Championships hosted by Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts on Friday, March 7th and Saturday, March 8th.

Both of the Greyhound squads have had the last two weeks to prepare for the ECAC Championships after winning the inaugural Landmark Conference Championships on February 27th at Susquehanna University in Selinsgrove.  Both teams will look to win their first-ever ECAC team titles this weekend under first-year head coach Walt Wandall.

On the men’s side, senior Ozzie Brown (Plymouth Meeting, PA/Plymouth Whitemarsh HS) will be participating in five individual events and a relay for the Greyhounds.  Brown, pictured at right, is scheduled to compete in the 55-meter dash with a qualifying time of 6.41 seconds, the 200-meter dash with a qualifying time of 22.15 seconds, the 55-meter high hurdles with a qualifying time of 7.60 seconds, the high jump with a qualifying height of 1.94 meters (six feet, 4 ¼ inches) and the long jump with a qualifying leap of 7.29 meters (23 feet, 11 inches), which is the longest jump by an NCAA Division III student-athlete this season.

Brown, who was the Landmark Conference Male Field Athlete of the Meet, will also run in the 4x200-meter relay along with senior James Bell (Mohnton, PA/Governor Mifflin HS) junior Rob Shaffer (Pottsville, PA/Pottsville HS) and freshman Eric Woodruff (Brodheadsville, PA/St. Pius X HS) after a qualifying time of 1:31.43.  Bell and Shaffer will also compete in the 55-meter dash after qualifying times of 6.59 and 6.60 seconds respectively while Woodruff will run in the 55-meter dash with a qualifying time of 6.64 seconds and the 200-meter dash with a qualifying time of 22.55 seconds.

Senior Nathaniel Tussey (Perkiomenville, PA/Boyertown HS) is scheduled to run in the 55-meter high hurdles with a qualifying time of 7.81 seconds while sophomore Michael Blenk (Inwood, NY/Lawrence HS) qualified in the 55-meter high hurdles in 8.12 seconds.  Blenk is also competing in the triple jump after a qualifying distance of 13.53 meters (44 feet, 4 ¾ inches), the long jump with a qualifying lead of 6.67 meters (21 feet, 10 ¾ inches) and the indoor pentathlon after a qualifying point total of 3,078 points.

Also competing in the field events for the Greyhound men will be junior Blair Maginnis (Asbury, NJ/Warren Hills Regional HS), who is pictured at left and qualified in the shot put with a toss of 15.67 meters (51 feet, five inches) and the 35-pound weight throw at 15.09 meters (49 feet, 6 ¼ inches), junior Alan Woods (Mechanicsburg, PA/Cedar Cliff HS), who qualified in the pole vault at a height of 4.40 meters (14 feet, 5 ¼ inches), and senior Allan Fatzinger (Catasauqua, PA/Catasauqua HS), who also qualified for the pole vault clearing 4.35 meters (14 feet, 3 ¼ inches).

Rounding out the Moravian men’s qualifiers will be the 4x800-meter relay team of juniors Jeremiah Reinhart (Doylestown, PA/Pleasant Valley HS) and Jacob Tazik (Wyomissing, PA/Wyomissing HS), sophomore Steve Parisi (Kunkletown, PA/Pleasant Valley HS) and freshman Connor Skutches (Bethlehem, PA/Liberty HS).

On the women’s side, sophomore Jessica Posimo (Philadelphia, PA/St. Basil Academy) will be competing in five individual and one relay event as well for the Greyhounds.  Posimo, pictured at right, qualified in the 200-meter dash in 26.58 seconds, the 55-meter high hurdles in 8.70 seconds, the long jump with a leap of 5.29 meters (17 feet, 4 ¼ inches), the triple jump with a distance of 11.07 meters (36 feet, four inches) and the indoor pentathlon with a score of 2,940 points.

Posimo will also run on Moravian’s 4x200-meter relay team along with sophomore Rachel Beck (Churchville, PA/Council Rock South HS), sophomore Symonne Scott (Attleboro, MA/Attleboro) and freshman Sydni Wisniewski (Orlando, FL/Winter Park HS) after the quartet qualified with a time of 1:45.49.  Wisniewski, the Landmark Conference Female Track Athlete of the Meet, will compete in four individual events after qualifying in the 55-meter dash in 7.45 seconds, the 200-meter dash in 25.96 seconds, the 400-meter dash in 58.39 seconds and the long jump with a leap of 5.17 meters (16 feet, 11 ½ inches).

Beck, pictured at left, is also scheduled to run in the 55-meter dash after qualifying in 7.44 seconds and the 200-meter dash in 26.07 seconds while freshman Shannon McEvoy (Lafayette, NJ/High Point Regional HS) will participate in the 55-meter high hurdles with a qualifying time of 9.02 seconds.

In the field events, sophomore Anna Heim (Moorestown, NJ/Moorestown HS) will compete in the pole vault after clearing a qualifying height of 3.75 meters (12 feet, 3 ½ inches) while sophomore Flora Robertson (Hawley, PA/East Stroudsburg North HS) will participate in the 20-pound weight throw with a qualifying toss of 14.34 meters (47 feet, ¾ inch).  Sophomore Rachel Riggs (Gettysburg, PA/Gettysburg HS) is scheduled to compete in the long jump with a qualifying leap of 5.06 meters (16 feet, 7 ¼ inches) and the triple jump with a qualifying distance of 10.71 meters (35 feet, 1 ¾ inches).