SFU Men’s Take Third, Women Finish Fourth at NEC Indoor Track & Field Championships

                                                                                        

LANDOVER, Md. (Feb. 10, 2008) – Three standout Saint Francis University track & field athletes captured individual titles on Sunday at the Northeast Conference indoor track & field championships to help lead their teams to Top-5 finishes at this year’s two-day event.

 

Senior Kayla Herron (Cumberland, Ohio / John Glenn) won a title in the women’s Weight Throw with an ECAC qualifying distance of 57 feet, 2.75 inches, while sophomore Anna Hoffman (Enon Valley, Pa. / Mohawk) captured first place in the 5000-meter run with a Northeast Conference record time of 17:23.11, which is also an ECAC qualifying time. Herron took third in the Weight Throw last year, while Hoffman finished fourth in the 5000 as a freshman. The Red Flash finished in fourth place with a team total of 89.5 points.

 

Monmouth took the team title with 123 points, while Long Island (112.5) was second and Sacred Heart (100) was third.

 

Senior John Balouris (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Shaler) successfully defended his title in the men’s Mile Run with a time of 4:18.82 to lead the Saint Francis men’s team to a third-place team finish with 79 points. Sacred Heart won the men’s title with 138 points, while Monmouth was second with 124.5 and Robert Morris took fourth with 66 points. The Red Flash finished third for the second consecutive season.

 

On the women’s side, Herron paced a dominating Saint Francis performance in the Weight Throw as the team took five of the top eight spots. Junior Elise Pearce (Cherry Tree, Pa. / Purchase Line) took second with a distance of 51-06.50, while senior Lisa Morse (Freedom, N.Y. / Pioneer Central) was fourth (51-00.00), senior Jenna Brian (Niles, Ohio / John F. Kennedy) was sixth (48-04.00), and senior Megan Sommers (Hollidaysburg, Pa. / Hollidaysburg) took seventh (47-08.00).

 

Morse had captured an NEC title on Saturday in the Women’s Shot Put.

 

In addition to her title in the 5000 meter run, Hoffman also captured third place in the Mile Run with a time of 5:05.27, and was followed by senior Shannon Kovack (Connellsville, Pa. / Connellsville) in seventh place (5:21.34). Kovack also took fourth in the 5000 meter run in 18:27.81.

 

Senior Kora Hardy (Salisbury, Md. / James M. Benett) finished seventh in the 60-meter dash in 8.04 seconds.

 

Freshman Elizabeth DeMedal also won an NEC title on Saturday when she took first in the Women’s Pole Vault.

 

The Saint Francis men moved up one spot in the team standings following Day 1 with a balanced effort on Sunday. Junior Josh Hazen (Vernon, N.J. / Vernon) and senior Jordan Hess (McConnellsburg, Pa. / McConnellsburg) started it off with the Shot Put. Hazen took third with an IC4A qualifying distance of 51-05.50, while Hess took fourth with a toss of 50-10.00.

 

Junior Denis Eradiri (Sofia, Bulgaria / Vladislav Gramatik 73) captured second place in the Triple Jump with a distance of 48-07.50, which was good enough to qualifying for the IC4A Championships. Senior Ardell Francis (Ewing, N.J. / Pennsbury) took fifth in the same event with a jump of 42-07.00.

 

Balouris helped to pace sophomore teammate Chris Behre (Flanders, N.J. / Mount Olive) in the Mile Run. Balouris won the title, while Behre took seventh in 4:24.92.

 

Freshman Jacob Librizzi secured seventh place in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.74 seconds, and junior Jorden Davis (Mississauga, Ontario, Canada / Loyola Catholic) and senior Ian Butcher (Georgetown, Ontario, Canada / Christ the King) teamed up to score 11 points in the 400-meter dash. Davis took second in 49.23 seconds, while Butcher crossed the line in 50.75 seconds.

 

Senior James Bush (Baltimore, Md. / St. Francis Prep) had strong performances in two events on the day. He took second in the 60-meter dash with an IC4A qualifying time of 6.86 seconds before finishing fifth in the 200-meter dash in 22.43 seconds.

 

Behre, sophomore Ben Peacock (Ebensburg, Pa. / Central Cambria), senior Jonathan Gibson (Cannonsburg, Pa. / Cannon McMillan) and Balouris teamed up to finish seventh in the Men’s Distance Medley Relay in 10:46.11.

 

The complete standings for both the men and women are as follows:

 

Men: 1. Sacred Heart (138); 2. Monmouth (124.5); 3. Saint Francis-PA (79); 4. Robert Morris (66); 5. Fairleigh Dickinson (56); 6. Long Island (54); 7. Quinnipiac (51); 8. Mount St. Mary’s (37.5); 9. Wagner (27); 10. Central Connecticut State (17); 11. St. Francis-NY (13).

 

Women: 1. Monmouth (123); 2. Long Island (112.5); 3. Sacred Heart (100); 4. Saint Francis-PA (89.5); 5. Mount St. Mary’s (60); 6. Robert Morris (55); 7. Quinnipiac (53); 8. Wagner (43); 9. Fairleigh Dickinson (14); 10. Central Connecticut State (7); 11. St. Francis-NY (6).