SPARTANS FINISH SEASON SUCCESSFULLY AT COLLEGIATE TRACK CHAMPIONSHIPS
Center Valley, PA (April 18, 2010) – The Spartan men closed out their team season on Sunday at the Collegiate Track Championships hosted by Richard Stockton University, and held at Desales University in Pennsylvania.
The men competed wholeheartedly against 16 solid teams and held 2nd place for nearly the entire meet. Ultimately, with only 8 individuals scoring, the men tallied a whopping 73 points, which placed them 7th overall at the end of the day.
Freshman Mike Abelard, Senior Chris Muniz, Sophomore Jon Sora, and Freshman Rich Ricca racked up the first of many points for the day in the 4x100m relay. They placed 2nd behind Kean with a time of 44.19.
Abelard and Muniz, however, knew that they had a long road ahead of them as they both prepared for the 100-meter dash in which they needed to run a preliminary and final section. Abelard and Muniz both qualified for the final section and dominated the field. Abelard finished 1st with a 10.95 and Muniz 2nd.
Shortly after, the duo returned to the track to compete in the 200-meter dash. Abelard, again, smoked the competition and took 1st with a time of 22.44. Muniz, too, powered to the finish and crossed the line 3rd, which was so close for 2nd that the officials had to review the tapes; truly a photo finish.
Muniz, exhausted, yet unwavering, put his experience to the test as he toed to the line for the 400-meter dash, his specialty, and 5th race of the day. Muniz showed heart and true dedication to the team as he jumped out of the blocks and had to run down a strong field of 6 competitors, taking the lead with 150-meters to go, winning the race with a time of 49.55, two seconds faster than the 2nd place finisher.
On the distance side, Senior Einar Brissing and Junior Vinny Modafferi had similar workloads at this Conference Championship. Brissing ran one of the gutsiest races of the day in the highly competitive 1500-meter run. He led the field for the first 1200-meters until he was overtaken by a group of four. However, with 150-meters left in the race, Brissing pulled to the front and finished in 2nd place with a time of 4:08.93.
Brissing also competed in the 5000-meter run in which he placed 13th out of 24 and clocked a solid time of 16:41.90.
Immediately after the 1500, Modafferi competed in the 800-meter dash. Modafferi kept within striking distance throughout the race and kicked in the final lap for an easy victory over a field of 31. Modafferi finished 1st with a time of 1:57.78.
The Spartan men closed the day out with the 4x400-meter relay, which consisted of Einar Brissing, Vinny Modafferi, Mike Abelard, and Chris Muniz. The Spartans regrouped for this championship event knowing they needed as many point as they can get to stay in the mix. The relay ultimately finished in 6th place overall and clocked a solid time of 3:31.58.
LADY SPARTANS FINISH SEASON SUCCESSFULLY AT COLLEGIATE TRACK CHAMPIONSHIPS
Center Valley, PA (April 18, 2010) – The Spartan women closed out their team season on Sunday at the Collegiate Track Championships hosted by Richard Stockton University, and held at Desales University in Pennsylvania.
The women had solid performances across the board. Freshman Kelsey Scardera competed in both the 100-meter High Hurdles and the 200-meter dash. In the hurdles, Scardera placed 13th with a time of 19.37 seconds, then came back to run the 200-meter dash in 31.81 seconds.
In the throwing circle, Senior Jeanette Gibson threw both the shot-put and discus. Gibson placed 9th in the shot-put with a throw of 10.84-meters. She placed 8th in the discus with a throw of 32.80-meters, scoring for the Spartans.
On the distance side, Sophomore Julia Karl competed in the 800-meter dash and placed 13th out of 22 competitors and clocked a time of 2:34.16.
Sophomores Lisa Brevogel and Sarah Callagy both competed in the 1500-meter run. Callagy placed 11th with a 5:24.12, while Brevogel tied her personal best with a time of 5:52.48.