Elizabethtown College Men's Track and Field
Saturday, February 25, 2006

Blue Jays Sweep MAC Indoor Championships; Etown Women Win First-Ever MAC Title; Etown Men Win Fourth Consecutive Indoor MAC Title 

SELINSGROVE, Pa. --- For the first time ever at a Middle Atlantic Conference track & field championship, Elizabethtown won both the men’s and women’s conference crowns at the 2006 MAC Indoor Championships, hosted by Susquehanna University, Saturday. It was the first MAC title ever for the Elizabethtown women’s track & field program, and it was the fourth MAC indoor crown in a row for the Elizabethtown men’s track & field program. Etown head coach Chris Straub was named the conference’s Coach of the Year on both the women’s and men’s sides, and Blue Jay first-year sprinter Stephon Finley (Douglassville, PA/Daniel Boone) was named the MAC Indoor Rookie of the Year on the men’s side.

The Elizabethtown women placed first out of 10 teams in the meet with a score of 130 points, topping second place Susquehanna University by a margin of 14 points. The Etown men finished first out of 10 teams with a score of 129 points, topping second place Susquehanna by 48 points.

On the women’s side, Elizabethtown won gold medals in five events, including all four of the relays. The Blue Jays brought home a total of 13 medals, set four new program indoor records and tied one.

Tiffany Kulp (Perkasie, PA/Pennridge) was the Etown womens’ lone MAC Champion in an individual event, as she won the 800m in 2:24.90. The Blue Jays dominated the relays, however, racking up 40 of their 130 points in those four events. The team of Erin Lichti (Shickley, NE/Shickley Public), Tina Bucci (North Wales, PA/North Penn), Lindsey Oliver (State Line, PA/Greencastle-Antrim) and Katelyn John (Camp Hill, PA/Cumberland Valley) won the 4x200m in a program record time of 1:47.55. The 4x400m team of Bucci, John, Nicole Murphy (Hatboro, PA/Hatoboro-Horsham) won in 4:08.74.

The 4x800m team of Kim Whalen (Wilmington, DE/Ursuline Academy), Tara Fagan (Gibsonia, PA/Pine-Richland), Meghan Ryder (Hatboro, PA/Hatboro-Horsham) and Kulp won in 10:09.74. The distance medley relay team of Fagan, Murphy, Whalen and Kulp won in 13:01.35.

Earning silver medals for Etown in the individual events included Lichti in both the 55m dash (7.58 in the finals) and in the 200m (26.85 seconds), Chelsea Miles (Media, PA/Penncrest) in both the high jump (4’10”) and in the triple jump (34’5”), and Samantha Jones (Chambersburg, PA/Chambersburg Area) in the mile run (5:26.33).

Miles also earned a bronze medal for the Blue Jays in the long jump (16’2-1/2”). Also earning bronze for Etown was John in the 200m (27.02 seconds) and Amanda Morrisette (Bensalem, PA/Bensalem Twp.) in the weight throw (41’1-1/2”).

Morrisette’s toss in the weight throw was a new Etown program record, as was her fourth-place finishing distance of 36’11” in the shot put. Also setting a new indoor record for Etown was Bucci in the 400m with a time of 1:00.42 en route to a fifth-place showing. In the pole vault, Samantha Adams (Mickleton, NJ/Padua Academy, DE) tied her program indoor record height of 10’0” in a fourth-place finish decided by jumps.

On the men’s side, Etown won gold medals in six events. The Blue Jays brought home a total of 13 medals, set three new program records, one new MAC Indoor Championship record, and provisionally qualified for the NCAA Division III Indoor Championships three times.

Winning gold medals for the Etown men in three individual events included Finley in the 55m dash (a program record time of 6.53 seconds, 0.03 shy of the NCAA provisional qualifying standard), Tyson Evensen (West Sand Lake, NY/Averill Park) in the 800m (1:55.40) and Kevin Clark (Horsham, PA/Hatboro Horsham) in the pole vault (a program and MAC record height of 16’3-1/2,” which also provisionally qualifies him for the NCAA Championships).

The Etown men also picked up gold medals in three of the four relays. Winning the 4x200m relay was the team of Darren DeAngelis (Basking Ridge, NJ/Ridge), Mike Bauer (Pottstown, PA/Pottsgrove), Jason Mastroianni (Macungie, PA/Emmaus) and Finley in 1:32.55. The 4x400m relay team of Finley, Phil Alder (Pottstown, PA/Pottsgrove), Evensen and Drew Graybeal (Sykesville, MD/Glenelg) won in 3:25.79. The 4x800m relay team of Brandon Bear (York, PA/Eastern York), Greg Wetzel (Warrington, PA/Central Bucks East), James Munnelly (Doylestown, PA/Central Bucks East) and Patrick Donovan (South Pasadena, CA/St. Francis) won in 8:06.24.

The men’s distance medley relay team of David Cohen (Allentown, PA/William Allen), Alder, Dylan Rulander (Russell, PA/Eisenhower) and Bear picked up a silver medal for Etown in 10:50.12. Also picking up silver medals for the Etown men were Graybeal in a 49.34 second program record and NCAA qualifying performance in the 400m, Evensen in a 4:15.62 NCAA championship qualifying performance in the mile run, Graybeal in a 1:57.02 finish in the 800m, and Ryan St. Clair (Chambersburg, PA/Chambersburg Area) in a 15:42.88 performance in the 5000m.

Earning bronze medals for the Etown men included Donovan with a 1:57.97 third-place finish in the 800m and D.J. Lehr (New Oxford, PA/Bermudian Springs) with a height of 14’0” in the pole vault to place third.

Elizabethtown will return to action in the March 3 Trinity College ( Conn.) Last Chance Meet, held at Yale University. The NCAA Division III Indoor Championships will take place March 10 and March 11 at St. Olaf College in Northfield, MN.

at Selinsgrove, Pa.
Middle Atlantic Conference Indoor Championships
Women’s Team Scores: 1. Elizabethtown 130; 2. Susquehanna 116; 3. Messiah 73; 4. Moravian 71; 5. Juniata 56; 6. Widener 52; 7. Lebanon Valley 18; 8. DeSales 10; 9. Delaware Valley 1; 10. Albright 0.
Etown Women’s Point Scorers (medalists in bold):
Scoring for Events: 10-8-6-4-2-1
55m dash: 2. Erin Lichti 7.58 (7.57 prelim); 4. Lindsey Oliver 7.83 (7.78 prelim)
200m: 2. Erin Lichti 26.85; 3. Katelyn John 27.02
400m: 5. Tina Bucci 1:00.42*
800m: 1. Tiffany Kulp 2:24.90
Mile: 2. Samantha Jones 5:26.33
5000m: 4. Samantha Jones 18:54.28; 5. Erin Fisher 19:04.39; 6. Erin Deihl 19:16.30
4x200m: 1. Erin Lichti/Tina Bucci/Lindsey Oliver/Katelyn John 1:47.55*
4x400m: 1. Tina Bucci/Katelyn John/Nicole Murphy/Erin Lichti 4:08.74
4x800m: 1. Kim Whalen/Tara Fagan/Meghan Ryder/Tiffany Kulp 10:09.74
Distance Medley: 1. Tara Fagan/Nicole Murphy/Kim Whalen/Tiffany Kulp 13:01.35
High jump: 2(t). Chelsea Miles 4’10”
Pole vault: 4. Samantha Adams 10’0”*
Long jump: 3. Chelsea Miles 16’2-1/2”
Triple jump: 2. Chelsea Miles 34’5”; 5. Jenna Riley 33’1-3/4”
Shot put: 4. Amanda Morrisette 36’11”*
Weight throw: 3. Amanda Morrisette 41’1-1/2”*
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Men’s Team Scores: 1. Elizabethtown 129; 2. Susquehanna 81; 3. Moravian 76; 4. Widener 65; 5. Juniata 57; 6. DeSales 40; 7. Messiah 36; 8. Lebanon Valley 30; 9. Albright 12; 10. Delaware Valley 0.
Etown Men’s Point Scorers (medalists in bold):
Scoring for Events: 10-8-6-4-2-1
55m dash: 1. Stephon Finley 6.53* (6.54 prelim)
200m: 4. Mike Bauer 22.97; 5. Stephon Finley 23.19
400m: 2. Drew Graybeal 49.34*#
800m: 1. Tyson Evensen 1:55.40; 2. Drew Graybeal 1:57.02; 3. Patrick Donovan 1:57.97; 4. Jon Slusser 1:58.87
Mile: 2. Tyson Evensen 4:15.62#; 5. Greg Wetzel 4:29.44
5000m: 2. Ryan St. Clair 15:42.88; 5. David Cohen 15:55.94; 6. Jason Theobald 16:00.11
4x200m: 1. Darren DeAngelis/Mike Bauer/Jason Mastroianni/Stephon Finley 1:32.55
4x400m: 1. Stephon Finley/Phil Alder/Tyson Evensen/Drew Graybeal 3:25.79
4x800m: 1. Brandon Bear/Greg Wetzel/James Munnelly/Patrick Donovan 8:06.24
Distance Medley: 2. David Cohen/Phil Alder/Dylan Rulander/Brandon Bear 10:50.12
High jump: 6. Zach Fogel 6’2”
Pole vault: 1. Kevin Clark 16’3-1/2”*@#; 3. D.J. Lehr 14’0”
Long jump: 6. Kevin Clark 21’7-1/4”

* Elizabethtown College Indoor Record
@ MAC Indoor Championships Record
# Meets NCAA Division III Indoor Championship provisional qualifying standard