Thursday, February 22, 2007

Navy Places Second at Patriot League Championship



Loni Forsythe, named Patriot League Track Athlete of the Meet. NAAA photo by Phil Hoffmann.
Navy men’s track & field Paul Harris helped break two league meet records as the Midshipmen finished second at the Patriot League Championship in Army’s Gillis Field House on Feb. 18.

Army won the league championship on its home track with a team score of 154.5 points, followed by Navy’s 140.5 points.

After running the anchor leg of Navy’s second-place 4x800-meter relay on Feb. 17, Harris opened his action on Feb. 18 by breaking his own record at the Patriot League Championship in the 500-meter run. He crossed the finish line in 1:03.02, more than one second faster than his record from last year, to win the event. In the final event of the afternoon, Harris, William Ricks, Craig Meekins and Cameron Lindsay combined to break the league championship record in the 4x400-meter relay with a time of 3:16.60.

Navy’s other relay, the distance medley relay, also earned First-Team All-Patriot League honors to Jeff Sarchione, Vince Carpentier, Ben Kozy and Lucas Burke who teamed up for a time of 10:07.41.

Darryl Hunter smashed a nine-year Patriot League Championship record in the shot put to win the event. Hunter uncorked a career-best toss of 55’4-1⁄4'' (16.87 meters) to top the mark held by Kris Terrill from Army in 1998.

Ron Belany concluded a busy weekend where he scored in three events. He earned first-team all-league honors in the 60-meter hurdles Feb. 17 with a time of 8.29 seconds, the 13th-best clocking in school history. Then Feb. 18, he registered a pair of fourth-place performances in the pole vault and long jump.

Navy racked up 12 of its 140.5 points in the 800-meter run on Feb. 18. Meekins claimed second-team all-league distinction for his second-place time of 1:52.36, while Burke followed in fourth place.

Rounding out the Midshipmen contingent on the All-Patriot League teams was Ricks, who recorded a team and season-best time of 49.12 seconds in the 400-meter dash to finish in second place.

Navy women’s track & field Kirsten Andrews and Loni Forsythe posted all-league performances in four events to lead the women to a second-place finish at the Patriot League Championship

Defending league champion Bucknell claimed the team title in 2007 with 192 points, followed by Navy’s 139.75 points.

One day after breaking the school and league championship records in the long jump and 60-meter hurdles, Andrews claimed Patriot League Field Athlete of the Meet honors with a first-place time in the 60-meter hurdles finals and second-place height in the pole vault. Her time of 8.71 seconds on Feb. 18 ranks as the second-best clocking in school history, only 0.01-second off her time during the preliminaries. She then matched her season-high clearance in the pole vault, surpassing the 12’3-1⁄2'' (3.75 meters) bar.

Forsythe was named Patriot League Track Athlete of the Meet after winning the 60-meter and 200-meter dash events. She won the 60-meter dash with a time of 7.66 seconds, the third-fastest showing in school history. Feb. 18, she set the league championship record with a time of 7.65 seconds during the preliminaries. She broke another league championship mark and school record in the 200-meter dash, crossing the finish line in 24.87 seconds. Her time of 24.95 seconds on Feb. 17 during the preliminaries was the first 200-meter dash performance under 25.00 seconds in school history.

Navy’s distance medley relay claimed first-team all-league honors with a time of 12:18.71. The relay group of Vicki Moore, Stefanie Peskosky, Erin Demchko and Taren Burkett combined for a time that shattered the previous season-best time by more than 20 seconds.

Moore also earned First-Team All-Patriot League honors for her efforts in the 1,000-meter run. She completed the race in 2:56.19, a season-best time that ranks as the ninth-fastest clocking in program history.

Lauren Burmeister etched her name into the record books with the ninth-longest triple jump in school history. She soared 38’0'' (11.58 meters) to place second in the event on Feb. 18. Burmeister, Jessica Orr, Joanna Clark and Abby Gesecki combined for a third-place time of 3:58.64 in the 4x400-meter relay.

Priscilla Lewis registered a pair of two top-four performances in the sprint finals. She crossed the finish line in 7.81 seconds during the 60-meter dash to place third and finished fourth in the 200-meter dash.

Both men’s and women’s track & field will travel to Boston to compete in the ECAC Championship on March 3 - 4.