Track and Field Set for Landmark Championship
BETHLEHEM, Pa. --- The 2015 Landmark Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championship is set for May 2-3 in Selinsgrove, Pa. for its eight year at host school Susquehanna University.
BETHLEHEM, Pa. --- The 2015 Landmark Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championship is set for May 2-3 in Selinsgrove, Pa. for its eight year at host school Susquehanna University. The Moravian women have been the only team to ever win the Outdoor Track & Field Championships and are looking to keep that tradition alive looking for number eight as the men are looking to earn back their top spot after being edged out last spring by the Crusaders.
The meet begins at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday with the 10,000-meter run. Admission is free to everyone for the two-day event, and you can find the schedule of events on the Landmark website at http://landmarkconference.org/sports/track/2014-15/championships_schedule-out. There will also be live results that will be posted as they become available which can also be found on the Landmark page or here at http://landmarkconference.org/sports/track/2014-15/championships_schedule-out.
"With both genders, and in particular with the men, we're a little healthier this year than we were headed into the meet last May," commented Head Coach Jesse Baumann. "Hopefully we'll be optimizing our chances to excel this weekend. We've had a good last month of the season so we're peaking at the right time and are hoping to perform well. If we just do what we've been doing this past month, we should have a good shot at having a solid meet this weekend. The hay is in the barn, so to speak, so now it's just about performing on Saturday and Sunday."
For the women, the Hounds, who have won 15 Landmark track & field titles with eight indoors and the first seven outdoors, have posted 11 of the top times/distances this spring. The 4x400 team that consist of seniors Brielle Sutter and Morgan Redmond, junior Corinne Glass and freshman Casie Cronk currently have the top time of 48.06. Redmond also holds the fastest 100 hurdle and 400 hurdle times while Glass and Sutter sit one and two in the 400m dash.
Senior Brianna Wright is the top seed in the 100-meter dash while she combines with Sutter, Redmond and Glass for the 4x100. Senior Emily Lambright and sophomore Meg Brockett have paced the Hounds in distance and have best time in the conference in the 1,500 meter and 3,000 meters this season.
Senior Dana Fineman and freshman Beth Ann Davies are also leading the conference with in the pole vault. Sophomore Kiara Bright leads in the triple jump at 11.02 meters (36 feet, two inches) while sophomores Lauren Suelke and Christelle Reglas along with freshman Melissa Cheong take the top three seeds in the long jump.
The freshman throwers have really dominated the field including Ciara Stewart, Trista Cunningham and Mary Kate Duncan while senior veteran Jenny Kratch is the second seed in the hammer throw.
On the men's side, the Greyhounds, who have captured 13 Landmark championships with seven of eight indoors and six outdoor titles so far, hold 11 of the top 20 times. Junior Gavin Bailey enters with the best time in the 400 meter dash, 400 meter hurdles, long jump and tied for the 100 meter dash. The Greyhounds 4x100 meter relay team consisting of senior Travis Dorsa, sophomores Matt Barnett and Jamil Poole and freshman Eric Morton are sitting in second.
Junior Ryan Karnopp is the favorite in the pole vault at 4.85 meters (15 feet, 11 inches) while sophomore Kahron Walker has the top seed in the high jump at 2.00 meters (6 feet, 6.75 inches) and in the triple jump ahead of senior Chris Ossont with a leap of 13.96 meters (45 feet, 9.75 inches).
Seniors Dillon Farrell and Alec Duncan are strong presences in the distance categories as Duncan is in second in the 3,000 steeple while Farrell is first in the 10,000. Senior Parker Munson is the top seed in the discus with a toss of 46.06 meters (151 feet, one inch) and shot with a toss of 14.67 (48 feet, 1.75 inches) while senior Jeffrey Gallagher is first in the hammer throw at 44.85 meters (147 feet, two inches)
Both of Moravian's squads look to post ECAC qualifying times if they haven't done so already and hope the depth they have in almost all of the events can create more postseason berths, and hopefully another Landmark Conference title for both teams.
