Men Finish Second, Women Sixth at NEC Track & Field Championships

WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. (May 3, 2009) - Anna Hoffman (Enon Valley, Pa./Mohawk) and Denis Eradiri (Sofia, Bulgaria/Vladislav Garmatik 73) each took home two individual titles as the Saint Francis men’s track & field team finished in second place and the women in sixth at the 2009 Northeast Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships on the campus of Monmouth University in West Long Branch, N.J. on Sunday. The men’s team finished with 127 points, while the women racked up 68 points.

Hoffman finished the 1500-meter run in a time of 4:42.93. She also won the 5,000-meter run, qualifying for the ECAC meet with a time of 17:22.68. Eradiri won the long jump with a distance of 7.53 meters, qualifying for the NCAA Regional meet. He also won the triple jump with a distance of 15.15 meters, making the NCAA regional mark in that event as well.

Monmouth won the men’s championship with a record-breaking 232 points and took the women’s title with 160.66 points.

Chris Behre (Flanders, N.J. Mount Olive) won the 1500-meter run with a time of 4:01.58.

Christin Bridge (Gibsonia, Pa./Pine Richland) also came away an NEC Champion, winning the shot put with a throw of 13.08 meters, and winning the discus with a toss of 42.94 meters. Her discus mark qualifies her for the ECAC meet.

Christopher Mills (Pikesville, Md./Western Tech) won the 5,000 with a time of 15:02.75 and the 10,000 with a finish of 31:27.42.

Hannah Reist (Cleona, Pa./Cleona) took eighth place in the 800-meter run finals, crossing the line in 2:28.16. Allyson Sheehan (Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin) just missed earning team points, taking ninth in the 5,000 with a time of 18:18.60. Sheehan was able to pick up eight points for the Red Flash by finishing second in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 11:16.76. Teammate Sarah Grossi (Canonsburg, Pa./Canon McMillan) placed fifth with a time of 11:31.42.

Christy Staily (Martinsburg, Pa./Central) and Kayla Kline (Ebensburg, Pa./Cambria Heights) both placed in the 400-meter hurdles, as Staily took fifth with a time of 1:06.88 and Kline grabbed seventh as she finished in 1:07.72.

The women’s 4 x 400 meter relay team took eighth, as the team of Kline, Staily, Nicole Brownyard (Carlisle, Pa./Trinity) and Sarah Frydrych (Wilmington, Del./Saint Mark’s) combined for a time of 4:11.06. The 4 x 800 team fared even better, as Grossi, Reist, Sheehan and Danielle Williams (Altoona, Pa./Bishop Guilfoyle) finished fifth with a time of 9:50.22.

Jill Albee (Ashley, Pa./Hanover) finished just out of contention in the triple jump, taking ninth with a jump of 11.33 meters.

On the men’s side, Jorden Davis (Mississauga, Ontario/Loyola Catholic) finished seventh in the 200-meter dash with a time of 24.26. He fared better in the 400-meter event, where he was the runner-up with a mark of 48.51.

Behre and Jeremy Tice (Littleton, Colo./Chatfield) both placed in the 800-meter run. Behre took third with a 1:55.61, while Tice came in seventh with a time of 1:57.98. Timothy Wertner (Chambersburg, Pa./Greencastle-Antrim) picked up fifth in the 5,0000 meter event with a 15:19.32. Wertner later grabbed fifth in the 10,000 meter event with a time of 32:03.73.

Andrew McKee (Pittsburgh, Pa./Shaler) and Jonathan Gibson (Canonsburg, Pa./Canon McMillan) went five-six in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with times of 9:52.50 and 9:54.10 respectively.

The 4 x 100-meter relay team of Davis, Eradiri, Will Velez (Staten Island, N.Y./Benedictine) and Tony Armstead (Harrisburg, Pa./Harrisburg) finished in fourth place with a time of 42.63. The 4 x 400 team of Davis, Behre, Anthony Rusonis (York, Pa./West York Area), and Everette Farmer (Baltimore, Pa./Loyola Blakefield) picked up fifth with a time of 3:21.84. Tice, Behre, Lloyd Foster (Bowie, Md./DeMatha Catholic) and Brian Kealey (Southhampton, Pa./Archbishop Wood) placed third in the 4 x 800 meter relay with a time of 7:49.72, qualifying for the ECAC meet.

Velez then went on to grab fifth in the men’s high jump with a height of 1.89 meters and took eighth in the long jump with a distance of 6.53 meters.

Josh Hazen (Vernon, N.J./Vernon) and Kyle DeWyngaert (Red Bank, N.J./Red Bank) both had a good showing in the shot put. Hazen (15.21 meters) took second, while DeWyngaert (14.80 meters) was right behind in sixth.

Ben Maderia (Summerhill, Pa./Forest Hills) was the runner-up in the discus throw with a toss of 47.70 meters, making the IC4A meet. He also qualified in the hammer throw, picking up fourth with a throw of 52.97 meters. DeWyngaert took eighth in the event with a mark of 49.29.