LORETTO, Pa. (June 2, 2008) – Junior Will Velez (Staten Island, N.Y. / Benedictine) and senior Diane Gmiter (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Laurel Highlands) had standout performances for the Saint Francis men’s and women’s track & field teams, respectively, at this past weekend’s NCAA East Regional, which was held on the campus of Florida State University in Tallahassee, Fla.

Velez broke the school’s high jump record with a distance of 2.11 meters to finish ninth in a deep field, one spot off scoring team points for the Red Flash. Gmiter also came away with a ninth-place showing with a toss of 54.43 meters in the hammer throw. Teammate, and fellow senior, Kayla Herron (Cumberland, Ohio / John Glenn) took 11th in the same event with a distance of 53.96 meters.

Gmiter qualified for, and then placed, in two events during the weekend. She also took 14th in the shot put with a toss of 14.53 meters. She followed senior teammate Lisa Morse (Freedom, N.Y. / Pioneer Central), who took 11th with a throw of 14.64 meters.

On the men’s side, Velez paced the group with his record-breaking performance in the high jump. Junior Jorden Davis (Mississauga, Ontario, Canada / Loyola Catholic) took 25th in the 400-meter dash in 47.71 seconds, while senior James Bush (Baltimore, Md. / St. Francis Prep) took 26th in the 100-meter dash with a time of 10.77 seconds. Addtionally, sophomore Chris Behre (Flanders, N.J. / Mount Olive) finished 33rd in the 1500-meter run in 4:02.62 and junior Denis Eradiri (Sofia, Bulgaria / Vladislav Gramatik 73) also took 33rd in the triple jump with a distance of 14.11 meters.

The NCAA Championships will be held June 11-14 in Iowa.