Velez, Bridge Win Events To Kick Off 2008-09 Indoor Track Season at Saint Francis
LEWISBURG, Pa. (Dec. 6, 2008) – The Saint Francis men’s and women’s indoor track & field teams started the 2008-09 season this weekend with several outstanding performances at the Bison Opener, hosted by Bucknell University.
Senior William Velez (Staten Island, N.Y. / Benedictine) won the men’s long jump with a distance of 7.14 meters to finish a strong meet, while freshman Christin Bridge started off her collegiate career with a win in the women’s shot put with a distance of 13.08 meters.
Velez had top finishes in two other events. He took third in the 200-meter dash (22.79 seconds), and tied for fourth in the 60-meter dash (6.98 seconds).
Senior Karl DeWayngaert (Red Bank, N.J. / Red Bank) finished second in the men’s weight throw (17.77 meters), and was followed by senior Ben Maderia (Summerhill, Pa. / Forest Hills), who took third. Maderia also placed third in the shot put (15.79 meters), while DeWayngaert (14.54) took sixth.
Junior Chris Behre (Flanders, N.J. / Mount Olive) placed third in the 3000-meter run (9:01.27), and senior Denis Eradiri (Sofia, Bulgaria / Vladislav Gramatik 73) finished sixth in the long jump (6.85 meters).
Additionally for the men, Michael Steffenino tied for fourth in the pole vault (4.35m), Everette Farmer finished fifth in the 300-meter dash (36.84 seconds), Nicholas Peterson took seventh in the shot put (14.49m) and Lloyd Foster finished ninth in the 800-meter run (2:05.82).
The Red Flash throwers had strong performances at the meet, paced by Bridge’s first place showing in the shot put.
Senior Elise Pearce (Cherry Tree,Pa. / Purchase Line) took fourth in the weight throw (15.73m), while Kathryn Kendrick took eighth in the weight throw (14.82m) and 10th in the shot put (12.17m). Senior Jill Albee (Ashley, Pa. / Hanover) also took sixth in the triple jump (10.66m).
Senior Sarah Rutledge (Parsippany, N.J. / Parsippany) crossed the line in the mile run in 5:45.16 to finish eighth.
Saint Francis will now take a break for final exams and the semester break before returning to action on Penn State relays on Jan. 10.