Landmark Men's And Women's Outdoor Track & Field Championships Go To Moravian
HUNTINGDON, Pa. – Even on a rainy day two of the 2011 Landmark Outdoor Track & Field Championships, things were still sunny for Moravian College as the Greyhound men's and women's team each won their fourth-consecutive Landmark Championships.
Holding to a slim lead on day one, the Moravian men posted seven individual wins and a pair of relay victories on day two to accumulate 272 points to earn the win. Susquehanna University was second with 225 with host Juniata College sitting in third with 137. The United States Merchant Marine Academy earned 55 points to place fourth and Goucher College and The Catholic University of America tied for fifth position with 36 points.
The Greyhound women were in control throughout and earned 252 points on the strength of eight victories on day two. Susquehanna held its second place position with 197 and Juniata was third with 161. Goucher moved up one spot from day one to place fourth with 77 points, Catholic was fifth with 70 and USMMA rounded out the scoring with 10.
Moravian also collected several individual honors following the meet as a result of their high finishes. Donnie Noble was voted the Track Athlete of the Year and Head Coach Walt Wandall and his staff were voted Coaching Staff of the Year on the men's side. Susquehanna's Ken Schetroma earned Field Athlete of the Year honors for the men and his teammate Seth Landgraf was voted co-Rookie of the Year with Juniata's Jeremy Hays.
For the women, Brittany Moses of Moravian was honored for her efforts in the field events with Field Athlete of the Year recognition. Goucher's Jaclyn Kellon was picked as the Track Athlete of the Year and Juniata's Alyssa Grube earned Rookie of the Year accolades. Susquehanna earned Coaching Staff of the Year honors on the women's side with Marty Owens claiming the honor.
For the Moravian men Noble led the way with a pair of victories on the track, including a meet record time of 15:09.19 to win the 5,000. He also won the 3,000-steeplechase by running 9:43.20. The team also had two track wins from Eric Woodruff who ran 11.13 in the 100 and 22.18 to win those events for the third time in as many years. Steve Ambrosi was also a winner as he ran 1:54.65 to place first in the 800 and Nicco Dalpiaz was first in the 110-meter hurdles by running 15.34. Woodruff also teamed with Dalpiaz, Justin Taylor, and Kyle D'Angelo to run a meet-record time of 41.61 to win the 4x100 in what was also an NCAA provisional qualifying time. Ambrosi also ran on the winning 4x400-relay team teaming with Alex Macri, Carlos LaLuz, and Jacob Tazik.
The team had one other meet record with Justin King placing first in the triple jump with a leap of 13.93.
The Crusaders had a pair of winners on the track, with Chance King winning the 400 hurdles in a mark of 58.29 and Joe Zamadics crossed the line first in the 1,500 by running 4:03.73. Catholic's Matthew Zemba captured a win in the 400 by running 50.39.
Schetroma claimed his Field Athlete of the Year honors on the strength of wins in the shot put and hammer throw. He tossed 15.02-meters to win the shot put and had a best throw of 44.40 to place first in the hammer. Hays claimed his Rookie of the Year honors by winning the high jump by clearing 1.93-meters.
The Moravian women picked up first in seven of the 11 events on the track including a pair of multi-event winners. Alyssa Wert was tops in the sprints, winning the 100 in 13.00 and then the 200 in 26.67. Cadee Rockwell handled two distance wins, running 4:48.77 to win the 1,500 and posted a mark of 18:17.23 to win the 5,000. Kristina Ruggiero placed first in the 800 by running 2:17.74. The group also won the 4x100 with Wert joining Nokukhanya Langa, Brittany Harvey, and Micah Leonard running a time of 49.86.
Leonard was also strong in the field events for Moravian as she won her second jump event by going 11.18-meters in the triple jump. Moses had two wins in the throws to earn her Field Athlete of the Year accolades as she placed first in the shot put with a mark of 11.40 after winning the discus on day one.
Also winning two events on the day was Kellon who crossed the line first in the 400 in a time of 59.32 and the 400 hurdles by running 1:05.51. She also was a part of the Gophers' winning 4x400 relay team which ran a time of 4:08.63, helping her earn Track Athlete of the Year honors. Angela Shaffer of Juniata place first in the 100-hurdles by running 15.68 and also cleared 1.52-meters to win the high jump.
Susquehanna's Alycia Woodruff set a new Landmark record by placing first in the 3,000-steeplechase in a time of 11:14.32. Caitlin Anderson also had a win for the Crusaders by throwing 44.37 to win the hammer throw.
With Landmark competition now finished on the track this season, many Landmark competitors will now compete in "Last Chance Meets" in an effort to qualify for the NCAA Division III Championships which will be held May 26-28 at Ohio Wesleyan in Delaware, Ohio. Last season the Landmark sent 10 athletes to the NCAA Championships and had seven competitors earn All-America honors.
