Wednesday, May 13, 2009

MORAVIAN TO SEND 26 STUDENT-ATHLETES TO COMPETE AT 2009 ECAC DIVISION III
OUTDOOR TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS

SPRINGFIELD, MA --- Moravian College has qualified 26 student-athletes, 14 females and 12 males, to compete at the 2009 Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships hosted by Springfield College in Springfield, Massachusetts on Thursday, May 14th and Friday, May 15th.

Both of the Greyhound squads are looking to repeat as ECAC Outdoor Champions after capturing the titles a year ago in the meet also hosted by Springfield.  Moravian’s men’s and women’s teams won their second straight Landmark Conference Championships on April 26th.

On the women’s side, junior Jessica Posimo (Philadelphia, PA/St. Basil Academy) will be competing in three individual and two relay events as well for the Greyhounds.  Posimo qualified in the 200-meter dash in 25.75 seconds, the 100-meter hurdles in 14.92 seconds, which is ranked 26th in the nation and the long jump with a school record leap of 5.81 meters (19 feet, ¾ inch), which is automatically qualified for next week’s NCAA Division III National Championships and currently fifth best in the nation this season.

Posimo will also run on Moravian’s 4x100-meter relay team along with junior Rachel Beck (Churchville, PA/Council Rock South HS), junior Symonne Scott (Attleboro, MA/Attleboro HS) and sophomore Sydni Wisniewski (Orlando, FL/Winter Park HS) after the quartet qualified with a time of 48.34, tied for 14th in the nation   Posimo and Wisniewski will also run in the 4x400-meter relay with freshman Hailey Neff (Lehighton, PA/Lehighton HS) and junior Anna Heim (Moorestown, NJ/Moorestown HS) after qualifying in 4:00.47.

Wisniewski will compete in two individual events after qualifying in the 200-meter dash in 25.29 seconds and the 400-meter dash in 57.95 seconds.  Beck is also scheduled to run in the 100-meter dash after qualifying in 12.77 seconds while Scott will compete in three events, the 100-meter dash with a qualifying time of 12.41 seconds, the 200-meter dash with a qualifying mark of 25.60 seconds and the long jump with a qualifying leap of 5.73 meters (18 feet, 9 ¾ inches), which is tied for eighth in the nation.

Neff is qualified in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:17.28 while sophomore Shannon McEvoy (Lafayette, NJ/High Point Regional HS) will participate in the 100-meter hurdles with a qualifying time of 15.55 seconds. 

In the field events, Heim will compete in the pole vault after clearing a school record and qualifying height of 3.87 meters (12 feet, 8 ¼ inches), which is currently third in nation and automatically qualified for the NCAA Championships while senior Christine Kihm (Quakertown, PA/Quakertown HS) qualified with a vault of 3.50 meters (11 feet, 5 ¾ inches), which is tied for 33rd in the country.  Sophomore Mary King (Paramus, NJ/Paramus HS) is qualified in the javelin throw with a toss of 40.09 meters (131 feet, six inches) that is 24th in the nation while sophomore Kaleen Holden (Scranton, PA/Bishop Hoban HS) has a qualifying mark of 35.56 meters (116 feet, eight inches) in the javelin.

Junior Flora Robertson (Hawley, PA/East Stroudsburg North HS) will participate in the hammer throw with a qualifying toss of 47.37 meters (155 feet, five inches), which is 35th in the country, while freshman Brittany Moses (Perkasie, PA/Pennridge HS) is qualified in the discus throw with a qualifying toss of 36.37 meters (119 feet, four inches).  Junior Rachel Riggs (Gettysburg, PA/Gettysburg HS) is scheduled to compete in the long jump with a qualifying leap of 5.31 meters (17 feet, 5 ¼ inches) and the triple jump with a qualifying distance of 11.17 meters *36 feet, 7 ¾ inches) while McEvoy qualified in the long jump with a leap of 5.25 meters (17 feet, 2 ¾ inches).

On the men’s side, Senior Nathaniel Tussey (Perkiomenville, PA/Boyertown HS) will be participating in two individual events for the Greyhounds.  Tussey is scheduled to compete in the 110-meter high hurdles with a qualifying time of 14.49 seconds that is tied for seventh in the nation and the 400-meter hurdles with a qualifying time of 53.92 seconds, which is 24th in the country.

Sophomore Eric Woodruff (Brodheadsville, PA/St. Pius X HS) is scheduled to run in a pair of events after setting school records in the 100-meter dash in 10.59 seconds, which is 7th in the nation, and in the 200-meter dash in 21.23 seconds, which is second in the country and automatically qualified for next week’s NCAA Championship meet. 

Senior Rob Shaffer (Pottsville, PA/Pottsville HS) is participating in the 100-meter dash with a qualifying time of 10.79 seconds and the 200-meter dash with a qualifying mark of 22.42 seconds while sophomore Warner Jones (Hillsborough, NJ/Hillsborough HS) will run in the 200-meter dash with a qualifying time of 22.21 seconds and the 400-meter dash with a qualifying time of 48.81 seconds.

Senior Timothy Murphy (Bethlehem, PA/Bethlehem Catholic HS) is qualified in the 800-meter run with a time of 1:54.88 seconds while junior Michael Blenk (Inwood, NY/Lawrence HS) qualified in the 100-meter high hurdles with a time of 15.69 seconds.  Blenk will also compete in the long jump with a qualifying mark of 7.06 meters (23 feet, two inches), which is tied for 21st in the country

 Also competing in the field events for the Greyhound men will be senior Blair Maginnis (Asbury, NJ/Warren Hills Regional HS), who is qualified in the shot put with a toss of 15.28 meters (50 feet, 1 ¾ inches) and in the hammer throw with a qualifying toss of 49.55 meters (162 feet, seven inches).  Freshman Timothy Layng (Canton, PA/Canton HS) is qualified in the pole vault with a school record height of 4.81 meters (15 feet, 9 ¼ inches) that is tied for 12th in the nation while senior Alan Woods (Mechanicsburg, PA/Cedar Cliff HS) is qualified in the pole vault at a height of 4.75 meters (15 feet, seven inches), which is 15th in the nation.  Freshman Gary Zack (Mountain Top, PA/Crestwood HS) will be competing in the javelin throw with a qualifying toss of 55.03 meters (180 feet, six inches).