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Ricks Posts a Pair of Top-Three Finishes at Patriot League Championship's Opening Day
May 6, 2011
Easton, Pa. - The Navy men's track and field squad (3-1) is currently in third place with 29.5 points after the first day of competition at the 2011 Patriot League Outdoor Championship at Lafayette's Metzgar Track. Navy had six scoring (top-6) performances and qualified three more athletes into the finals of their respective events on Saturday. Army is in first place (45) and Bucknell is in second (43.5) after the first day. "We had a good showing in the hammer throw with our guys going 2-4-5 today," head coach Stephen Cooksey said. "Chris Ricks [who also was second in the hammer] gave us a solid boost by placing third in the javelin because he wasn't ranked that high. We also challenged our sprinters and hurdlers to make some of Saturday's finals and they were able to do that as three guys qualified in three different events." Junior Christopher Ricks posted his best javelin mark of the season with a third-place showing of 178-0 (54.25m). Ricks also led a trio of Navy throwers to top-six finishes in the hammer throw. Ricks placed second in the hammer and earned All-Patriot League Second Team honors with a throw of 178-10 (54.52m), also his best mark of the season. Senior Patrick Norwood placed fourth in the hammer (175-7, 53.51m) and senior Nicholas Porter was fifth (170-9, 52.05m). Both Ricks and Norwood surpassed the IC4A-qualifing mark in the hammer throw. Sophomore Christopher Galvin took fourth in the 10,000m run with a season-best and IC4A time of 30:56.74. Galvin was the only Mid competing in the 10K and was able to grab four points in the first race of the championship weekend. Navy's 4x800m relay team led nearly the entire race before three teams caught and passed the Mids in the final 40 meters. Navy took fourth in the event with an IC4A-qualifying time of 7:32.94. The 4x800m team was comprised of David Ash, Lucas Connelly, George Stevenson and Weston Kennedy. Junior Paul Neidhardt scored in the pole vault with a fifth-place showing. Neidhardt had a clear of 14-9 in the event. Sophomore Mitch Simmonds ran the second-fastest qualifying time in the 110m hurdles (14.68). Simmonds' time is under the IC4A standard and he will be in a good position to score in Saturday's final. Junior Alexander Jackson qualified for the finals in the 200m dash with a time of 21.92, his best time of the outdoor season. Also, freshman Brett Bogaard ran an 11.03 to qualify for the finals of the 100m dash. Sophomore Rand Montermini and teammate Christopher Fowler are both competing in the decathlon. The pair has wrapped up five events today and will have five more tomorrow. The top showings so far in the decathlon were Folwer placing second amongst the field in the shot put (38-3¼) and Montermini tying for second in the high jump (6-4¾). Action will wrap up on Saturday with the finals of the remaining 16 events. Navy will be heavy favorites to score in tomorrow's discus, 1,500m, 5,000m and 3,000m Steeplechase events tomorrow. Team Standings After Day One 1. Army 45 2. Bucknell 43.5 3. Navy 29.5 4. Lehigh 21 5. American 19 6. Lafayette 11 7. Holy Cross 9 8. Colgate 8
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