Moravian Earns Men's And Women's Track & Field Titles
MADISON, N.J. - After a full day of outstanding competition the
Moravian College men's and women's track & field teams claimed
the team titles at the inaugural Landmark Conference Indoor Track
& Field Championships Saturday afternoon at Susquehanna
University in Selinsgrove, Pa.
The Greyhound women won the team title in convincing fashion
earning 213 points to outdistance second-place Susquehanna which
finished with 129 points. Juniata College was third with 92 points.
The Catholic University of America finished fourth with 48 points,
Goucher College was fifth with 32 and the United States Merchant
Marine Academy rounded out the scoring with seven points.
On the men's side, Moravian and Susquehanna went back-and-forth
with the lead throughout the day with the Greyhounds eventually
claiming the title with 194 points. The Crusaders finished with 179
points on the day to place second. Juniata was third with 78
points, while USMMA and Catholic tied for the fourth spot with 29.
Goucher rounded out the scoring with 13 points.
In addition to the team titles, three individual awards were
awarded in men's and women's competition. For the women Moravian's
Sydni Wisniewski was recognized as the Women's Track Athlete of the
Year. Juniata's Kelsey Buffenmyer was chosen as the Women's Field
Athlete of the Year. Susquehanna's Alycia Woodruff was selected as
the Women's Rookie of the Year. In addition the Coaching Staff of
the Year Award went to Moravian and Head Coach Walt Wandall.
For the men the Men's Track Athlete of the Year went to Paul
Thistle of Susquehanna. Moravian's Ozzie Brown was picked as the
Men's Field Athlete of the Year. His teammate Bobby Eppelman was
selected as the Men's Rookie of the Year. The Coaching Staff of the
Year award on the men's side also went to Moravian and Head Coach
Walt Wandall.
Wisniewski captured a pair of wins on the track for the
Greyhounds as she swept the 200 and 400 meter dashes with times of
26.38 and 58.76 respectively. She was also second in the 55-meter
dash.
Woodruff was dominant on the track as the sophomore earned three
first-place finishes. The sophomore won the 800 with a time of
2:24.38, the mile in 5:19.46 and the 5,000 with a mark of 19:18.47
Buffenmyer captured a victory in the high jump with a best leap
of 1.57 meters, and she was also second in the long jump and was
fourth in the 55-meter hurdles.
Jessica Posimo earned victories in the long jump and the triple
jump to help Moravian earn its victory. Her best jump was 5.29
meters in the long jump and she posted a mark of 10.59 meters in
the triple jump.
Along with Posimo the Greyhounds earned another pair of
victories in the field events. Flora Robertson got it started with
a victory in the weight throw, with a best toss of 14.34 meters.
Anna Heim matched her win by clearing 3.19 meters to win the pole
vault title.
Juniata earned the other the victory off the track as Megan
Lamens was tops in the shot put with a toss of 11.36 meters.
The Greyhounds also dominated the sprint events as with
Wisniewski's wins the team captured victories in the 55-meter dash,
the 200-meter dash, 400-meter dash and the 55-meter hurdles. Posimo
added a win in the 55-meter hurdles to go with her two jumping
victories. Rachel Beck ran a time of 7.44 to claim the 55-meter
dash for the Greyhounds.
Moravian continued its strong efforts in the sprints by earning
the win in the 4x200 relay in a time of 1:45.49. Catholic earned a
victory in the first relay of the day as the team crossed the line
first in the Distance Medley Relay in 13:45.56 and then won the
4x800 with a time of 10:10.87. The Greyhounds then closed out their
team victory with a win in the 4x400 relay.
On the men's side Brown won five events on the day, claiming
three victories on the track and another two in the field events.
He had a win in the high jump with a best leap of 1.92 meters and
topped the field in the long jump by posting a best mark of 7.11
meters The senior also crossed the line in 6.41 to win the 55-meter
dash. He also won the 55-meter hurdles in a mark of 7.60 and was
first in the 200 by running a time of 22.15.
Thistle was just as impressive on the track as he claimed wins
in three events. The sophomore opened his day by running a winning
time of 4:24.80 in the mile. He followed that up by winning the 800
in a time of 1:57.77 and he then capped his day with a win in the
5,000 in a time of 15:48.11.
Rookie of the Year Eppelman tied for third in the high jump and
added a fifth place finish in the long jump in his first conference
meet.
In the men's field events Blair Maginnis was a dual event winner
as he swept the two throwing events. He posted a winning mark of
13.08 meters in the weight throw and a best effort of 15.50 meters
in the shot put. Michael Blenk was also claimed an individual title
in the field events with a best jump of 13.53 meters to win the
triple jump.
Susquehanna also earned points in the field events with John
Calvo clearing 4.75 meters to win the pole vault.
Susquehanna's Josh Simpson was the only runner other than
Thistle or Brown to win an individual event as he crossed the line
first in the 400 in a time of 50.14.
Moravian also captured first-place finishes in a pair of relay
events as the Greyhounds earned victories in the 4x200 and then
closed the meet with a win in the 4x400 after a disqualification.
Juniata won the other two relays on the day, claiming victories in
the Distance Medley Relay and also the 4x800.
Several Landmark teams and athletes will now move on to compete
at both the ECAC Division III and NCAA Division III Indoor Track
& Field Championships.