Feb. 14, 2011

Center Valley, Pa. — The wait is almost over.

In a few days, the Wesley A. Brown Field House in Annapolis, Md., will be packed with student-athletes from all eight schools.

The indoor track and field teams have been preparing for the 2011 Patriot League Championships since the beginning of December, and they will finally pack their gear, get on the bus and travel to Annapolis, Md., this week for the three-day event opening Friday.

Friday’s events will solely be the heptathlon and pentathlon, gearing up for Saturday’s field and running events. The awards ceremony will be at 5:20 p.m. Sunday.

Seven out of eight schools were in action during the final weekend before the League Championships. Bucknell led the way, garnering four of six weekly awards in the final Indoor Track and Field Weekly Release.

Robert Arent won his third Male Track Athlete of the Week award this season, while teammate Leonard Joseph won his fourth Male Field Athlete of the Week.

Navy’s Jess Palacio broke a Patriot League record with her fourth Female Track Athlete of the Week, and Army’s Kaci Clark was named the Field Athlete of the Week.

Bucknell swept the Rookie of the Week awards with Chris Sacks winning his second and Beth Braunegg winning her first and the Bison’s fifth Rookie of the Week award this season.

Patriot League Indoor Track & Field Weekly Release (2.14.11)

Team Notebooks                                  
American The Eagles were idle last weekend.

Army The Black Knights men’s and women’s teams competed at the Saturday Night at The Armory III meet with the men placing second out of 13 teams and the women eighth out of 14. The Army men had six student-athletes qualify for the IC4A Championships with Alexis Torre-Santiago and Scott Geary leading the way. Santiago qualified in the 1,000 (2:25.04), while Geary qualified in the shot put (15.89). Chris Wagner (1:52.93) and Chris Jones (1:52.99) each qualified in the 800, and Alfred McDaniel (6.91) and Brian Cobbs (6.97) both qualified in the 60 dash. Kaci Clark led the women with a first-place finish in the pole vault with at ECAC mark of 3.80 meters, which set a new Academy record.

Bucknell The Bison men’s and women’s teams competed at the non-scored Bucknell Winter Classic Saturday. Robert Arent and Leonard Joseph led the men’s team hitting IC4A-qualifying marks. Arent qualified in the 60 hurdles (6.19 seconds) and Joseph qualified in the weight throw (17.52 meters). Joseph’s mark was nearly a meter better than the standard (16.80). It also was a career-best throw and ranked fifth in Bucknell history. It was the longest throw since Tyler Hoffman broke the record in 2007. With his fourth Field Athlete weekly award, Joseph tied Hoffman for the single-season record set in 2006-07. Rebecca Frey and Beth Braunegg led the women’s team with ECAC-qualifying performances. Frey qualified in the pole vault (3.60) and Braunegg qualified in the 1,000 (2:54.75).

Colgate The Raiders women’s team competed at the Valentine Invitational Friday at Boston University and the men competed Saturday, recording six IC4A-qualifying marks. Senior Michele Miller set a new school record in the 400 with a personal-best time of 57.42 seconds to finish eighth. Miller also anchored the 1,600 relay which set a new school record (3:54.68). Graham Tooker led the men with three qualifying performances in the 200 (22.01), the 400 (48.26) and the 1,600 relay (3:19.31). Andrew Smith set a school record in the 800 with his IC4A-qualifying time of 1:52.57. Jonathan Knowlton also qualified in the 800 (1:53.27). Chris Johnson posted an IC4A qualifying time in the 1,000 (2:29.54).

Holy Cross The Crusaders men’s and women’s competed at the Valentine Invitational Friday and Saturday. On Saturday, junior Chandler Fenner placed fourth in the triple jump (13.89) and senior Alex Johnson finished ninth in the long jump (6.47) to lead the men’s team. On Friday, Stephanie Okpoebo, Brittany Gorski, Cassandra Anderson and Katelyn Hartnett recorded the team’s top finish of the meet, placing 10th in the 1,600 relay (3:56.60). Anderson also placed 12th in the 500 (1:17.56).

Lafayette The Leopards hosted the non-scored Lafayette/Rider Invitational at The Armory Friday with two men qualifying for the IC4A Championships. Senior Ryan Stasiowski qualified with his third-place finish in the mile (4:13.25) while sophomore Dayne Mosconi qualified with his fourth-place finish in the 1,000 (2:29.77).

Lehigh The Mountain Hawks men’s and women’s teams competed at the Saturday Night at The Armory III meet with the men placing fifth out of 13 teams and the women 10th out of 14. E’Lana Lemon led the women with her fourth-place finish in weight throw (16.76). Her toss in the bested an ECAC-qualifying mark. Freshman Patrick Ciez led the men again with another qualifying mark in the high jump, as he finished fourth (2.04).

Navy The Midshipmen men competed at the non-scored Iowa State Classic while the women hosted the Sweetheart Meet in Annapolis, Md., finishing first out of four teams. Jess Palacio led the women, besting her own school record in the 800 (2:07.27) and qualifying for the ECAC Championships. Katie Taylor also qualified in the 5,000 (17:16.76). The Navy men had five IC4A-qualifying performances. Paul Neidhardt had one in the pole vault, clearing 15-9, while three runners in the 800 qualified: Matthew Evers (1:53.05), David Ash (1:53.97) and George Stevenson (1:54.47). Alexander Jackson, Kolton Kempel, Ash and Evers also teamed up in the 1,600 relay (3:16.21) to qualify.

Patriot League Notebook
Navy leads men and women in USTFCCCA NCAA Division I Regional polls
Four men’s teams and one women’s team appear in the latest USTFCCCA NCAA Division I Regional polls, released Feb. 8. The Navy men (8-1) lead the way with their No. 3 ranking in the Mid-Atlantic poll. The Mids, as of the Feb. 1 poll, had 30 entries in the regional rankings, including two relay teams. Navy’s top-regionally ranked runner is senior Andrew Hanko at No. 2 in the 5,000 (14:29.37). Hanko is also ranked fifth in the region in the mile (4:06.08).

Bucknell trails Navy in the Mid-Atlantic poll, ranked at No. 9, and Lehigh is No. 13. Army is ranked fifth in the Northeast Region.

On the women’s side, Navy is ranked 12th in the Mid-Atlantic Region.

2010-11 Patriot League Indoor Track and Field Championships to be held at Navy
This year’s indoor championships will be held at the U.S. Naval Academy Feb. 18-20 in Annapolis, Md. It will be the first time since the 2008-09 championships that the meet will be held at Navy. It will be the fourth time that the championships will be held in Annapolis. The Army men and the Navy women won the titles the last time the championships were held at Wesley Brown Fieldhouse.

Patriot League Weekly Awards
Male Track Athlete of the Week
ROBERT ARENT, BUCKNELL Jr., New Providence, R.I.
Arent wins his third Track Athlete of the Week award after qualifying for the 60 hurdles with an IC4A-qualifying time of 6.19 seconds. He finished first in the race at the Bucknell Winter Classic, and he finished second in the 200 dash with a time of 22.48, which is 0.24 seconds short of another IC4A mark.

Female Track Athlete of the Week
JESS PALACIO, NAVY Jr., Sun Valley, Nev.
Palacio broke her own school record in the 800 with an ECAC-qualifying time of 2:07.27 and a first-place finish at the Navy Sweetheart Meet. Palacio earns her fourth Track Athlete of the Week this season, breaking the single-season Patriot League record of three set by Bucknell’s Christa Sawko (2006-07)

Male Field Athlete of the Week
LEONARD JOSEPH, BUCKNELL So., Whitesboro, N.Y.
Joseph wins his fourth Field Athlete weekly award, tying a single-season record set by Bucknell’s Tyler Hoffman (2006-07). Joseph surpassed an IC4A standard in the weight throw with a toss of 17.52 meters, nearly a meter better than the standard (16.80). It was a career-best throw and ranked fifth in Bucknell history. It was the longest throw since Hoffman broke the record in 2007.

Female Field Athlete of the Week
KACI CLARK, ARMY Sr., Fayetteville, Ga.
Clark finished first in the pole vault (3.80) at the Saturday Night at The Armory III meet, qualifying for the ECAC Championships. She wins the Female Athlete of the Week award for the second time this season.

Male Rookie of the Week
CHRIS SACKS, BUCKNELL Fr., Pound Ridge, N.Y.
Sacks posted an IC4A-qualifying time in the 800 (1:52.89) at the Bucknell Winter Classic to win his second Rookie of the Week award. He has qualified for the IC4A Championships in three events (800, 1,000 and mile).

Female Rookie of the Week
BETH BRAUNEGG, BUCKNELL Fr., Williamsport, Pa.
Braunegg is the fourth different and fifth overall Bucknell freshman to win Rookie of the Week this season. She qualified for the ECAC Championships with a time of 2:53.75 in the 1,000, finishing first at the Bucknell Winter Classic.

Honorable mention
ALEXIS TORRE-SANTIAGO, ARMY Sr., Fort Monmouth, N.J.
Torre-Santiago finished first in the 1,000 (2:25.04) at Saturday Night at The Armory III, meeting an IC4A standard.

SCOTT GEARY, ARMY So., Sheridan, Wyo.
Geary placed third in the shot put (15.89) at the Saturday Night at The Armory III meet, qualifying for the IC4A Championships.

REBECCA FREY, BUCKNELL Sr., Bethlehem, Pa.
Frey finished first in the pole vault (3.60) at the Bucknell Winter Classic, qualifying for the ECAC Championships.

PATRICK CIEZ, LEHIGH Fr., Windham, Maine
Ciez met the IC4A-qualifying mark again in the high jump with his mark of 2.04 meters at the Saturday Night at The Armory III meet.

E’LANA LEMON, LEHIGH So., West Orange, N.J.
Lemon hit an ECAC mark at the Saturday Night at The Armory III meet in the weight throw (16.76).

PAUL NEIDHARDT, NAVY Jr., Lawrenceville, Ga.
Neidhardt finished eighth in the pole vault (4.80) at the Iowa State Classic, qualifying for the IC4A Championships.