June 4, 2009

Center Valley, Pa. - Student-athletes from each Patriot League school concluded their season at the NCAA Track and Field East Regional last weekend, with 31 total competitors taking part in the men's and women's individual events at North Carolina A & T's Aggie Stadium in Greensboro. N.C.

The top five finishers in each event qualified for the NCAA Championship, with Lafayette's Seamus McGuire notching the highest place for a Patriot League competitor and just missing a spot in the championship by finishing sixth in the javelin with a mark of 206-5. The javelin had more Patriot League participants than any other event, with Lehigh's James Pachucki finishing 14th and Bucknell's Steven Pierce (24th) and Ted Heitzman (27th) also competing in the event.

Four Patriot League student-athletes took part in multiple individual events. Army's Adam Schwartz placed 25th in the hammer throw and also competed in the discus. Bucknell had three competitors in multiple events, with Sarah Bella finishing 19th in the shot put and 26th in the discus throw, while Amy Mantush competed in the triple jump and high jump and Drew Fitzgerald took part in the pole vault and high jump on the men's side.

Bucknell's Andrew Huebner recorded a 10th-place finish in the men's steeplechase with time of 9:08.45. The Patriot League had six individuals place in the top 15 of an event, with American's Carlos Jamieson placing 11th in the men's 1500-meter finals in a time of 3:50.14, Army's Kim Mallard finishing 13th in the women's hammer throw with a mark of 165 feet, 9 inches and Bucknell's Kyle Anthony in 15th in the triple jump with a mark of 49-9 to join McGuire, Pachucki and Huebner as top 15 finishers.

A pair of Army relay teams placed 15th as well, with the 4 X 400 meter relay finishing in a time of 3:15.65 and the 4 X 100 meter relay coming in with a time of 41.31.

The Patriot League fielded at least one representative in 15 of the 18 individual events and both relays on the men's side, and in 13 of the 18 individual events and one of the two relays on the women's side. Bucknell had 11 individuals at the meet, while Army had 10 individuals and two relay teams. Every Patriot League school had at least one individual in the regional.