March 31, 2009

Center Valley, Pa. - All eight Patriot League teams have another jam-packed docket this week, with American kicking things off at the Texas Relays on Wednesday. Student-athletes from Army, Lehigh and Navy won M-F Athletic Track and Field Performer of the Week laurels.

Patriot League Outdoor Track and Field Release - 3.31.09

M-F Athletic Male Track Performer of the Week

Alfred McDaniel, Army So., San Antonio, Texas

McDaniel finished in second place in the 100m dash with a time of 10.97 at Army's Dick Shea Invite last weekend. McDaniel's 100m dash time was in the 96th-percentile of the NCAA Regional qualifying standard. The sophomore also ran the first leg of Army's IC4A-qualifying 4x100m relay team with a time of 41.58.

M-F Athletic Female Track Performer of the Week

Latasha Watson, Lehigh So., Stephens City, Va.

Watson ran a 25.52 in the 200m dash and a 57.15 in the 400m dash in the prelims of the rain-soaked Winthrop Invitational. Watson's 200m time was within the 93rd-percentile of the NCAA Regional qualifying mark, while her 400m time was within the 95th-percentile of the NCAA qualifying standard.

M-F Athletic Male Field Performer of the Week

Mark Van Orden, Navy Jr., Morris Plains, N.J.

Van Orden surpassed the NCAA Regional and IC4A-qualifying standard in the hammer throw with a toss of 61.08m (200' 5") at the Navy Invite last week. The junior's throw eclipsed his previous best of 59.47m (195' 1") set at last year's Penn Relays.

M-F Athletic Female Field Performer of the Week

Kim Mallard, Army Sr., Tampa, Fla.

Mallard had a toss of 50.88m (166' 11") in the hammer throw at the Dick Shea Invite last week. The senior qualified for ECACs with the toss, and was within the 93rd-percentile of the NCAA Regional qualifying standard.

M-F Athletic Male Rookie of the Week

Trent Kraychir, Army Fr., Twentynine Palms, Calif.

Kraychir was within the 99th-percentile of the NCAA Regional qualifier with his hammer throw of 56.24m (184' 6") at the Dick Shea Invite. The freshman also improved on his IC4A performance from his collegiate debut the previous week with the toss.

M-F Athletic Female Rookie of the Week

Jari Ross, Army Fr., San Antonio, Texas

Ross won the triple jump event at the Dick Shea Invite with a leap of 11.07m. Her jump was nearly in the 90th-percentile of the NCAA Regional qualifying mark.

Patriot League Notebook

The Week Ahead

American kicks off another busy week of Patriot League track at the Texas Relays, held Wednesday through Saturday this week. The Eagles will also compete at the Duke Invite on Friday and Saturday. Both Bucknell squads and the Navy women will participate in the Colonial Relays all day Friday and Saturday as well. Colgate will head to the Same Howell Invite on Friday and Saturday, while the Navy men's squad will head to Gainesville to compete in the Florida Relays both days.

Saturday, Holy Cross competes at the Wildcat Invite, while Lehigh and Lafayette renew their rival at a dual meet in Easton at 11 a.m. The Army women and Navy men will head to the Penn Invite, while the Army men will compete in the Auburn Track Classic all day Saturday.

For More Information

IC4A/ECAC and NCAA Outdoor Qualifying standards can be found on the Track and Field page on the Patriot League website at www.PatriotLeague.com.

2009 Patriot League Championships

The 2009 Patriot League Outdoor Track and Field Championships will be held at Army's Shea Stadium in West Point, N.Y., Friday and Saturday, May 1 and 2, 2009. For more information about the 2009 Championships, please visit the 2009 Outdoor Track and Field Championships page on the Patriot League website at www.PatriotLeague.com.

Team Notebooks

American The American women competed at the Maryland Invite last week, where they finished 11th of 14 teams. The men's squad finished fourth of four teams at the Navy Invite. The Eagles will compete at both the Texas Relays and Duke Invite this week.

Army The Black Knights hosted the Dick Shea Invite last weekend, where the men's throwers made four IC4A-qualifying marks and collected individual victories in 10 of the 21 contested events. The Army women claimed victories in nine of the 21 events. The women will next compete at the Penn Invite on Saturday, while the men will participate in the Auburn Track Classic.

Bucknell Bucknell opened its season at the team unscored Susquehanna Invite and at the Maryland Invite, where the men's team finished first of 14 teams, while the women finished third of 14 squads. The Bison will next compete at the Colonial Relays on Friday and Saturday.

Colgate The Raider men finished third of four teams at the Navy Invite last week. The Colgate women had no scheduled events last week. Colgate will next compete at the Sam Howell Invite on Friday and Saturday.

Holy Cross Senior Kevin Lucid finished the 5,000m run in fourth place with a time of 15:41.47 at last week's team unscored Bryant Invitational. Freshman Alexandra Culkeen won the shot put with a mark of 12.05m(39' 6 1/2"). The Crusaders will compete at the Wildcat Invite on Saturday at 11 a.m.

Lafayette The Leopard men finished fifth of eight teams while the Leopard women finished sixth of eight teams at the Eight Way Meet in Easton last weekend. Lafayette hosts the annual Lafayette/Lehigh dual on Saturday at 11 a.m.

Lehigh Lehigh competed in three meets last week, including the team unscored Monmouth Season Opener and Winthrop Invite. The Mountain Hawks also competed at the Eight Way Meet, where both teams finished eighth of eight teams. Lehigh will head to Easton this weekend for a dual meet with archrival Lafayette at 11 a.m. on Saturday.

Navy Junior Erica Ziel qualified for ECACs in the 10,000m run with a time of 37:02.51 at the Towson Invite, good for first place. Ziel was the first runner to qualify for ECACs for the Mids this season. On the men's side, Navy finished first of four teams at the Navy Invite. The Midshipmen men will split squads and compete at the Florida Relays and the Penn Invite this weekend, while the women's team heads to the Colonial Relays Friday and Saturday.