Feb. 9, 2010

Center Valley, Pa. – All eyes will soon be on the Patriot League Championships, but until then, the regular season continues trudging toward its end. The Mid-Atlantic snowstorm postponed the Army/Navy Star Meet, but all other events involving League schools went on as planned.

American and Lehigh each picked up two awards this week, with Army snagging the fifth. Domonick Sylve exceeded an NCAA provisional time in the 60-meter hurdles, helping him to the M-F Athletic Male Track Performer of the Week award. For the Eagles, Rachel Forcino was named M-F Athletic Female Track Performer of the Week, while teammate James Cannon earned the M-F Athletic Male Rookie of the Week award. Lehigh’s Ashley Atwell earned M-F Athletic Female Field Performer of the Week honors for the second consecutive time, while Alyssa Donahue was named M-F Athletic Female Rookie of the Week.

Patriot League Indoor Track and Field Release - 2.9.10

M-F Athletic Male Track Performer of the Week

Domonick Sylve, Army Jr., Long Beach, Calif.

Sylve finished seventh in a very fast field at the New Balance Invitational in the 60-meter hurdles, but his time of 7.88 seconds was .03 quicker than the NCAA provisional standard. He also set a new personal record.

M-F Athletic Female Track Performer of the Week

Rachel Forcino, American Sr., Gaithersburg, Md.

Forcino shattered her personal best in the 5,000 meters at the New Balance Invitational by 27 seconds, breaking the tape in 17:30.44. Her time was good for second place in the event, is the top time in the Patriot League this season and qualifies her for ECACs.

M-F Athletic Male Field Performer of the Week

No Nominations This Week

M-F Athletic Female Field Performer of the Week

Ashley Atwell, Lehigh Sr., Sugar Land, Texas

Last week Atwell set the Lehigh indoor record in the pole vault when she reached 3.60 meters. She matched that mark over the weekend at the New Balance Invitational, where she finished seventh in the event.

M-F Athletic Male Rookie of the Week

James Cannon, American Fr., Staten Island, N.Y.

At the New Balance Invitational, Cannon ran the mile in 4:14.50. It’s the League’s second-fastest time in the event from a freshman this season.

M-F Athletic Female Rookie of the Week

Alyssa Donahue, Lehigh Fr., Wilmington, Del.

Donahue finished 17th in the 500 meters at the New Balance Invitational for the Mountain Hawks. Her time of 1:18.82 is the fastest in the League among rookies this year.

Honorable Mention Performances Last Week

Colin Eustis, American Jr., Delhi, N.Y.

Eustis took first in the 3,000 meters at the New Balance Invitational. His time of 8:13.28 set a new personal record, is the best time in the League and qualified him for IC4As.

Chelsea Burns, Colgate So., Seattle, Wash.

Burns was part of the Raiders’ DMR team that finished in 11:53.72 at the Geigengack Invitational at Yale, which broke a Colgate record by seven seconds and qualified them for ECACs.

Chris Johnson, Colgate Fr., Murray Hill, N.J.

Johnson broke a pair of Colgate freshman records at the Geigengack Invitational in 3,000- and 5,000-meter runs. Both marks, which dated back to 1991, had been previously held by former Raider All-American Ray Appenheimer.

Patriot League Notebook

Navy, Bucknell Remain In Regional Top Seven
Navy and Bucknell both appear in the USTFCCCA’s men’s Mid-Atlantic rankings for the second consecutive week. The Mids sit sixth with 142.15 points, while the Bison are seventh with 133.07 points.

Colgate Shatters Records In New Haven
The Raiders have a lot to be proud of after three school records fell during competition at Yale’s Geigengack Invitational in New Haven, Conn. The women’s distance medley relay team of Chelsea Burns, Michele Miller, Elise DeRoo and Ashley Niness broke the school mark in the DMR. The four finished in 11:53.72, which eclipsed the old mark, set in 1998, by 7.23 seconds and qualified the team for the ECACs. On the men’s team, Chris Johnson established himself as one of the League’s rising stars. He broke the Raider freshman records in both the 3,000 and 5,000 meters with times of 8:37.45 and 14:52.59, respectively. His 3,000-meter time eclipsed the old record of 14:58.10, and the 5,000-meter effort was 2.51 seconds better than the previous mark. Incidentally, both those Colgate records were set in 1991 by eventual two-time All-American Ray Appenheimer.

Snow Postpones Star Meet
The Mid-Atlantic storm that dumped upwards of two feet of snow certainly disrupted traveling and scheduling for some events. The Army-Navy Star Meet was postponed as a result of the inclement weather. The women’s event was rescheduled for Friday, Feb. 26 while the men will compete on Saturday, Feb. 27. Both will be in Annapolis.

Army Prepares To Host League Championships
Army’s Gillis Field House in West Point, N.Y. will play host to this year’s Patriot League Championships on Friday-Sunday, Feb. 19-21. If you’re a member of the media and you plan to attend the events, please contact Dallas Miller, Army’s track and field sports information director, at dallas.miller@usma.edu or at 845.938.6996.

Army Men, Bucknell Women Picked
Army has been selected to successfully defend its men’s League crown this season, while Bucknell has been voted as the top team in the women’s poll. The voting was done by head coaches and sports information directors around the League. Army, who won its 13th men’s Patriot League Championship last season and three of the last four, topped the preseason voting with 96 points and 12 first-place votes. The Bucknell women, who finished second at the Patriot League Championship last season behind Navy, received 11 first-place votes and 93 points. The Midshipmen received five first-place votes and finished second overall in the preseason voting with 89 points.

Team Notebooks

American The Eagles put on another strong showing in distance events, with Colin Eustis winning the 3,000 meters (with Jeff Brannigan running a close second) and Josh Olsen taking the 5,000-meter event at the New Balance Invitational. Rachel Forcino took second in the women’s 5,000 and Erin Koch set a new career best in the 1,000. In all, the Eagles achieved 10 new personal bests during the two-day event. American is idle until the Patriot League Championships at Army.

Army The annual Army-Navy Star Meet was postponed to Feb. 26-27 because of the Mid-Atlantic snowstorm. Domonick Sylve instead competed at the New Balance Invitational, where his 7.88 in the 60-meter hurdles surpassed the NCAA provisional time by .03 seconds. Torre Santiago set a season best in the mile (4:12.00), while Alfred McDaniel finished tied for 17th in the long jump. Another Armory Invitational awaits the Black Knights on Saturday.

Bucknell The Bison were idle this week and host the Bison Winter Classic in Lewisburg on Saturday.

Colgate Chelsea Burns, Michele Miller, Elise DeRoo and Ashley Niness teamed up to break the Raiders’ record in the DMR at the Gigengack Invitational at Yale on Friday. Their time of 11:53.72 not only broke a Colgate mark that had stood since 1998, but they also qualified for ECACs. Christopher Johnson broke Ray Appenheimer’s Colgate freshman record in the 5,000 meters by almost a full six seconds at Yale, finishing in 14:52.59. The women head to New York for the Lafayette/Rider Invitational on Friday, while the men go to the Valentine Invitational in Boston on Saturday.

Holy Cross Timothy Richard won the 3,000 meters, Dan Altenau finished first in the mile and the Crusaders went 1-2 in the 400 meters in their loss at Maine. On the women’s side, Holy Cross took first in five events, including a 1-2 finish in the weight throw and victories in the 500-, 800- and 3,000-meter events. The women compete at the Valentine Invitational in Boston, Mass. on Friday, while the men participate on Saturday.

Lafayette Nick DeRosa was the lone Leopard to compete at the New Balance Invitational, taking 38th in the 400-meter dash with a time of 50.09. The Leopards host the Lafayette/Rider Invitational in New York City on Friday.

Lehigh Katherine Pierce set a personal record and ran the second-fastest League time in the 5,000 meters at the New Balance Invitational in New York City. Jillian Randolph also added a new career mark with a 2:59.82 in the 1,000 meters. Kaitlin Grimm also set a personal mark in the 3,000-meter run. Nick Ray had a strong performance for the men, hitting 16.24 meters in the shot put, and three of his teammates finished in the top 10 in the 5,000 meters. The Mountain Hawks head back to New York for the Armory Collegiate Series on Saturday.

Navy The Mid-Atlantic snowstorm forced the postponement of the Army-Navy Star Meet, which has been rescheduled for Friday, Feb. 26 for the women and Saturday, Feb. 27 for the men. The women host the Sweetheart Meet on Thursday, while the men travel to the Iowa State Classic on Friday and Saturday.