IUP track team records second straight qualifying meet at SPIRE
Published: Monday, February 6, 2012
Updated: Tuesday, February 7, 2012 12:02
For the second consecutive weekend at the Division II Team Challenge at the SPIRE Institute in Geneva, IUP had another successful showing.
Nine members of the men's team and 12 members of the women's team qualified for either Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) or NCAA provisional.
Brandon Ford and Jared Long were the leaders for the men's team, who both set NCAA provisional marks in their respective events.
Ford had the second longest leap of the season in the PSAC with a mark of 47-10.5. Long, a junior, recorded a season best and fourth-best conference time in the 400 meters at 48.95 seconds. Victor Costello had an impressive day in the mile, finishing in 4:17.06 and Clint Keller, who bested his 3,000 meter time in the PSAC, crossed the line at 8:31.17.
Other notable IUP men's members who were PSAC qualifiers include Joe Lynch in the 800 meters, Troy Zangaro in the 400 meters, Ross Moreau in the shot put, Adam Marzullo in pole vaulting and the 4x400 team.
Leading the women's team were Brooke McDaniel and Ayanna LeBlanc. McDaniel registered PSAC qualifying times in both the 200 and 400 meter runs.
Her times were 26.18 in the 200 and 57.86 in the 400. Her time in the 400 meter is the best so far this season in the conference.
LeBlanc also qualified for the PSAC in the shot put. Her throw of 42-6.25 is the second-best in the conference up to this point.
Alyssa Taddie and Samantha Thompson, both mile runners, registered top 10 times in the PSAC this season with times of 5:11.47 (Taddie) and 5:15.67 (Thompson).
Katie Koenig and Stephanie Beaudette, conference qualifiers in the 5,000 meters, finished with times of 18:55.12 and 17:43.53 respectively.
Other notable women's qualifiers include Shona Young in pole vaulting, Kendyl Paolini in the pentathlon, Silken Shifner in the triple jump and Krista Matsko in both the 400 meters and the 60 meter hurdles.
The Crimson Hawks, competing for the third straight weekend, travel to Lewisburg for the Bucknell Winter Classic on Saturday.
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