Behrend Indoor Track to Send 14 Athletes to ECAC Championships
The Penn State Behrend men's and women's indoor track and field teams have qualified 14 athletes for the ECAC Division III Indoor Track and Field Championships to be held at St. Lawrence University in Canton, NY on March 4 and 5. The Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference is a collection of 323 Division I, II, and III colleges and universities from Maine to North Carolina. Forty-seven schools will have athletes competing at the Division III championship meet.
Isiah Meek (Wayne, NJ/Wayne Valley) qualified in the 55-meter hurdles with a time of 7.78. Shane Rock (McKean/General McLane) and Jon McKinney (Summerville/Union) both qualified in the triple jump with distances of 44'2.75" and 43'9.75", respectively. The final individual male qualifier was pole vaulter Donnie Hackworth (Monroeville/Gateway) with a height of 14'0".
On the women's side jumper Staci Banaszek (Erie/Harborcreek) qualified in the triple jump with a distance of 36'4.5", the long jump with a distance of 16'9.5", and the high jump with a height of 5'1.75". Becky Gonzales (Morrisville/Piscataway) qualified in the 55-meter hurdles with a time of 8.91. Leisl Soergel (Evans City/Butler) also qualified in the 500-meter event with a time of 1:23.00.
Both the men's and women's squads qualified relay teams for the event. The women's 4x800-meter team of Leslie Gentile (Corry/Corry), Nicole Mineweaser (Warren/Warren), Claire Manelick (Youngsville/Youngsville), and Leisl Soergel qualified with a time of 10:02.50. The men also qualified a team in the 4x800-meter event. The team consisting of Brad Ruffo (West Middlesex/West Middlesex), Eric Diluzio (Erie/Cathedral Prep), Mike Bartlett (Erie/Iroquois), and Joe Wilcher (Irwin/Penn Trafford) posted a time of 8:13.00
Head Coach Dave Cooper was delighted with the performance of the team this season. "Fourteen indoor ECAC qualifiers is a record number for Behrend, up from six in 2004. The athletes are excited about competing and should score a record number of points. Three athletes (Isiah Meek, Donnie Hackworth, and Staci Banaszek) are also close to NCAA qualifying and hope to achieve national qualifying marks while at ECACs," commented Cooper.
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