April 29, 2008

The Patriot League outdoor track and field teams will shift their focus to this weekend's championship meet at the United States Naval Academy. Final weekly awards for the regular season were handed out to Army's Domonick Sylve, Bucknell's Sarah Moniz and Alaina Chodoff, Lafayette's Ashley Harbin and Navy's John Olsen and Mark Van Orden.

Patriot League Outdoor Track and Field Release - 4.29.08

M-F Athletic Male Track Performer of the Week
John Olsen, Navy Sr., Staten Island, N.Y.
Olsen earned an NCAA Regional qualifying mark in the 3,000m steeplechase race at last weekend's Penn Relays. The senior finished the race in a time of 8:58.31, which placed him eighth in the race. It was the first time in his career that he had finished the event in less than nine minutes.

M-F Athletic Female Track Performer of the Week
Sarah Moniz, Bucknell Fr., Topsfield, Mass.
Moniz earns her first weekly award of the spring after finishing 18th in the Championship Division of the 3,000m run at the Penn Relays this past weekend. Moniz ran the race in a time of 10:03.62, which is a career best and the fifth best in Bison history.

M-F Athletic Male Field Performer of the Week
Mark Van Orden, Navy So., Morris Plains, N.J.
Van Orden becomes the second Navy field athlete to win this award this spring after a strong performance in the hammer throw at last weekend's Penn Relays. The sophomore reached a distance of 58.47m to finish second in the event, recording a career-best throw in the process.

M-F Athletic Female Field Performer of the Week
Ashley Harbin, Lafayette Sr., Clarksville, Tenn.
Harbin wraps up her fifth weekly award of the spring following her most dominant performance of the season at the Penn Relays. Harbin won her second-consecutive title in the championship division of the hammer throw at the Penn Relays when she uncorked a throw of 61.34m. She also reached a distance of 40.44m in the discus at the Lehigh Games later in the weekend.

M-F Athletic Male Rookie of the Week
Domonick Sylve, Army Fr., Long Beach, Calif.
Sylve wins this award for the second time in as many weeks following another NCAA Regional qualifying mark in the 110m hurdles. Sylve posted a time of 14.30 seconds in the event for the second-consecutive week, this time at the Yale Springtime Invitational. Sylve also ran the fastest leg in Army's shuttle hurdle relay at the Penn Relays.

M-F Athletic Female Rookie of the Week
Alaina Chodoff, Bucknell Fr., Cherry Hill, N.J.
Chodoff wins her first-career weekly award following a first-place finish in the 3,000m run at the Saint Francis (Pa.) Red Flash Open this past weekend. The freshman ran the race in a time of 10:46.70 to take the individual title in the event.

Honorable Mention

Jon Anderson, Army
Jr., Cinnaminson, N.J.
Anderson ran well for the Black Knights at the Penn Relays. He posted a 13th-place finish in the championship division of the 5,000m race with a time of 14:11.08, and backed that up with a fifth-place finish in the DMR with a time of 9:57.22.

Patriot League Notebook

Approaching the Finish Line
The 2008 Patriot League Outdoor Track and Field Championship Meet will take place this Thurs. and Fri., May 2-3 at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md. For more information on this year's event, including parking information and a complete schedule of events, please visit the Patriot League outdoor track and field championship page on the Patriot League website.

NCAA East Regional Qualifying Marks
It is just a few days prior to the 2008 Patriot League Outdoor Track and Field Championships, and a lengthy list of student-athletes have already snagged a trip to Tallahassee, Fla. for the NCAA East Regional Meet on May 30-31. For a complete list of student-athletes that have qualified, please view page seven of this release.

USTFCCCA Rankings Unveiled
The United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association unveiled the third set of national rankings for the 2008 outdoor season on Wed., April 16. Here's a look at where the Patriot League teams ended up:
Men
169. Army - 0.45 points
180. Navy - 0.19 points

Women
129. Lafayette - 3.35 points
189. Bucknell - 0.10 points

For More Information
NCAA Outdoor Regional Qualifying standards can be found on the Track and Field page on the Patriot League website, along with the top times in the Patriot League this season. Both pieces of information can be found on the sidebar of the Track and Field page.

Team Notebooks

American
The Eagles competed at the prestigious Penn Relays this past weekend. The women were led by seniors Kate Lilley and Cathleen Ford who finished fourth and 11th, respectively, in the 3,000m race. Both finished the race in under 10 minutes, a feat which neither runner had previously accomplished. The men were paced by a fifth-place finish in the 4xMile relay race, which ran in a time of 16:27.14, ahead of powerhouses such as Oregon, Arkansas and Tennessee.

Army
The Black Knights sent athletes to both the Penn Relays and the Yale Springtime Invitational this past weekend, and were led by several NCAA Regional qualifying performances. Junior Jon Anderson placed 13th in the championship division of the 5,000m race, with a time of 14:11.08. Anderson also ran the mile leg of the fifth-place Distance Medley Relay team for Army. Freshman Domonick Sylve posted a time of 14.30 seconds in the 100m high hurdles for the second-consecutive week to reach the qualifying mark.

Bucknell
The Bison competed in two events this past weekend, sending athletes to both the Penn Relays and the Saint Francis (Pa.) Red Flash Open. Freshman Sarah Moniz placed 18th in the championship division of the 3,000m run at the Penn Relays, while fellow freshman Alaina Chodoff placed first in the same event at the Red Flash Open. Sophomore Kyle Anthony led the field athletes for the Bison in Philadelphia, placing 15th in the Eastern College Division of the long jump at the Penn Relays. Senior Beverly Rogers once again hit the NCAA Regional mark in the Javelin, finishing eighth in the championship division at the Penn Relays.

Colgate
The Colgate women traveled to the Penn Relays and the Lehigh Games this past weekend. At the Penn Relays, senior Liz Kennedy was the lone individual runner, posting a career-best time in the 5,000m race, while the 4x800m team also posted a season-best time on the track at Franklin Field.  Junior Curran Knox won the women's 100m and 100m hurdles at the Lehigh Games.

Holy Cross
The Holy Cross men finished third of five teams at a home meet, while both the men and women competed at the non-scoring Brown Springtime Invitational last weekend. Senior Thomas Harrison led the men, winning the long and triple jump events at the home meet. At the Brown meet, John Meikle led the men with a first-place finish in the pole vault, while the women were led by sophomore Olivia Pruszko's second-place finish in the 400m hurdles.

Lafayette
The Leopards sent athletes to both the Penn Relays and the Lehigh Games last week. Senior Ashley Harbin once again led the way for the women, winning her second-consecutive hammer throw title in the championship division at the Penn Relays. Competing against some of the top competition in the country, Harbin reach a distance of 61.35m to win the event. The 4x400m relay team also ran well at the Relays, posting a school-record time and a 43rd place finish out of 83 teams in the event.

Lehigh
The Mountain Hawks were yet another Patriot League team to send athletes to both the Penn Relays and Lehigh Games last weekend. Sophomore Nick Ray placed fifth in his division of the shot put at the Penn Relays, reaching a season-best distance of 15.83m. Senior Emily Roth set a new school record in the pole vault (3.49m) to finish 20th in the event at the Relays.

Navy
The Midshipmen traveled north to Philadelphia to compete in the annual Penn Relays, and had several NCAA qualifying marks. Senior John Olsen finished eighth in the 3,000m steeplechase with an NCAA Regional time of 8:58.31, marking the first sub-nine minute time in his career. Sophomore Mark Van Orden also notched an NCAA Regional mark in the hammer throw, finishing second with a distance of 59.47m.