Sports News: Spring 2011

Thursday, April 28, 2011

TRACK & FIELD TEAMS KICK OFF LANDMARK SPRING CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON

MADISON, N.J. The Landmark Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships moves to its fourth venue in four seasons as the six Landmark track & field programs head to Huntingdon, Pa. and the campus of Juniata College to begin the spring championship season on Saturday April 30 at Oller Track at Knox Stadium.

Competition begins at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday with the women’s 10,000-meter run and will wrap up at approximately 4 p.m. Saturday evening. The meet will wrap up on Sunday when competition resumes at 9 a.m. and is scheduled to conclude at approximately 3:30 p.m.  

Moravian College is the three-time defending champion in both the men’s and women’s meet, and will try to maintain its grip on the titles against host Juniata, The Catholic University of America, Goucher College, Susquehanna University, and the United States Merchant Marine Academy. Additionally event winners will be recognized in 19 individual events and a pair of relays.

Last year’s men’s competition was the tightest in three seasons as Moravian outlasted Susquehanna by a six-point margin and those two teams will likely be battling for the top spot again. Moravian is led by sprinter Eric Woodruff who holds the Landmark record in the 100 and 200 and has qualified for the NCAA Championships in both events. They also boast a pair of distance standouts in Matthew Lutcza and Donnie Noble who are threats in multiple events and boast a solid core of field performers. Susquehanna’s strength comes in the throws where Ken Schetroma holds the top mark in several events and also in the distance races with a deep group of performers led by Ian Quinlan could produce major points.

USMMA placed fourth at the outdoor meet last season and showed marked improvement with a third-place finish at the Landmark Indoor Championships. Garret Washington won the high jump indoors and is ranked highly in several of the jump events while the team also has a deep group of throwers. Juniata has three third-place finishes at the outdoor meet in its history and will try to move into the top two this year with jumper Nicholas Bauer poised to challenge for wins in several events. Goucher has top-ranked performers in Brian Gautier in the 400 and Doug Falk in the high jump as the Gophers try to move their way into the top half of the standings. Matthew Zemba of Catholic is highly ranked in the long sprints while Sean Brubaker has had a strong outdoor season in the throws and will try to help Catholic move up the standings.

In the women’s competition Moravian’s talent and depth make them a tough foe to topple though their margin of 17 points last year was by far the closest in meet history. Jumper Micah Leonard, sprinter Alyssa Wert and distance performer Cadee Rockwell are among the multiple Greyhounds seeded at the top of their respective events and help make the team a favorite to capture its fourth title. Susquehanna pushed Moravian to the limit last year, and has several top competitors in position to help the team challenge again this year. Alycia Woodruff has excelled at the meet in the past and is capable of winning multiple distance events for the Crusaders, while Samantha Cartwright and Caitlin Anderson leads a deep group of throwers who can pile up points for the team.

The women’s competition looks even deeper this year as there could be very little separating the remaining teams. Catholic was third a year ago and boasts one of the top throwers in the conference in Kelly Carioto while last year’s Rookie of the Year Laura Kinley could be a factor in the long sprints and short distance events. The versatile jumping and hurdling duo of Angela Shaffer and Erika Brown could both help Juniata move back into the top half of the standings as they each seeded highly in several events. Goucher’s push to break into the top half of the standings will be led by Jaclyn Kellon, who is seeded in the top-2 in a pair of events, and thrower Abby Cooney who could also score in multiple events. USMMA has shown improvement with a solid showing at the indoor meet and will have Lauren Rattan ranked highly in the long sprints as a likely contributor.

Once competition wraps up on Sunday, Landmark teams will compete at various last-chance meets over the next few weeks in attempts to qualify for the NCAA Division III Championships which will be held May 26-28 in Delaware, Ohio hosted by Ohio Wesleyan University. Last season the Landmark sent 10 athletes to the NCAA Championships and had seven competitors earn All-America honors.

Release courtesy of Landmark Conference office.