TRACK AND FIELD OFF TO A FAST START IN 2004
Forty-six athletes competed during the indoor season for the Penn State Behrend track and field team. Between them they set 13 new records and had six Eastern Conference Athletic Championship (ECAC) qualifiers in seven events. The team continues to grow stronger each year, with only 11 of 48 records remaining from the 2001 season.
This season the men broke eight records, including two relay records, while the women set five new marks. This is especially significant considering that of 46 athletes, only four are seniors. Jessica Knapp (Erie/McDowell), Dave Masilunas (McMurray/Peters Township), Brian Pratt (Seneca/Cranberry), and Chad Lindell (Russell/Eisenhower) represent the senior leaders of the young team.
This year's indoor MVPs were junior Isiah Meek (Wayne, NJ/Wayne Valley), a hurdler, and sophomore Staci Banaszek (Erie/Harborcreek), a long, triple, and high jumper. The Rookies of the Year were freshmen Jordan Gray (Butler/Butler), a jumper, and Leslie Gentile (Corry/Corry), a distance runner.
To mark the transition from indoor to outdoor season the team traveled to the Disney Relays in Florida over the week of March 7. The trip coincided with indoor ECACs so qualifiers had to miss that opportunity for another. In Florida the team broke eleven records. The men set new marks in four relays, one distance event, and the pole vault. The women broke five relay records. Isiah Meek and Donnie Hackworth (Monroeville/Gateway) quickly qualified for ECACs. Meek did so by running the 110 hurdles in 15.30 while Hackworth reached 14'5.25" in the pole vault.
After returning from Disney the team traveled to Clarion on March 27. At the meet the Behrend Lions broke more records and qualified six more athletes for ECACs. Staci Banaszek, Leslie Gentile, Dan Mitchell (Bloomsburg/Bloomsburg), and Shane Rock (McKean/General McLane) qualified individually, while Ken Carpenter (Valencia/Mars) and Jason Kuntz (Erie/Fairview) will join Meek and Rock at Williams College in Massachusetts to compete in the 4x100 meter relay.
Next up for the Behrend Lions is a trip to Carnegie Mellon on April 3, where the team will compete in the Western Pennsylvania Championships. After this weekend the team will have four more meets to qualify individuals for the ECAC Championships in Massachusetts.
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