FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
S-087-07-08
Thursday, February 28, 2008

Elizabethtown College to Compete at MAC Indoor Track and Field Championships

ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. --- The Elizabethtown College men's and women's track and field teams will be in action at the Middle Atlantic Conference Indoor Championships at Susquehanna University on Saturday afternoon.

The Blue Jay men will favored to win their sixth straight MAC indoor crown while the women will look to regain the MAC team title that they won in 2006.

Elizabethtown's men are led by seniors Kevin Clark (Horsham, PA/Hatboro-Horsham) and Drew Graybeal (Woodbine, MD/Glenelg), both of whom have played key roles in the Blue Jays' run of five straight team titles.

Clark, the defending NCAA Division III indoor champion in the pole vault, will be looking for his fourth MAC indoor title in the event. Last year, he set a MAC indoor record by clearing 16 feet, 6 inches en route to the championships.

He will also be a top contender for a medal in the 55-meter hurdles, the long jump and the 200 meters for the Blue Jays, after taking fourth in the hurdles and the long jump last year.

Graybeal swept the 400 and 800 meters at both the MAC indoor and outdoor championships last year, and is the top seed in both events this year. He has also been part of the winning 4x400-meter relay team in each of the last two years.

Junior Phil Alder (Pottstown, PA/Pottsgrove) and sophomore Kyle Grimm (Pottstown, PA/Pottsgrove) each won two golds last season, in the 4x400 and distance medley relays.

Sophomore A.J. Farris (Edgewood, MD/Joppatowne) was fifth in both the 55 meters and 200 meters last year, but is expected to be a top medal contender in each event.

Senior Dave Bresnahan (Cinnaminson, NJ/Cinnaminson) is the top seed in the mile at 4:28.25, while junior Jeremy Matula (Bath, PA/Northampton) and first-year student Chris Heisey (Middletown, PA/Middletown) will be contenders in the 5000 meters.

For the women, junior Tiffany Kulp (Perkasie, PA/Pennridge) is primed to win her third straight MAC indoor title in the 800 meters, and is poised to take gold in the mile after winning two straight MAC outdoor crowns in the 1500 meters.

Senior Erin Fisher (McEwensville, PA/Warrior Run) is the defending indoor and outdoor champion in the 5000 meters, and is the top seed in the event by a spread of 23 seconds. She will also look to give the Blue Jays a one-two finish in the mile as the number-two seed behind Kulp.

Two years ago, the Blue Jays swept all four relays en route to their first MAC women's indoor championship, and this year Elizabethtown is the top seed in three of the events (distance medley, 4x800 and 4x400).

First-year student Allie Gold (Columbia, PA/Hempfield) will vie for a medal in the 55 hurdles, along with first-year student Lauren Riley (Sanatoga, PA/Pottsgrove) and senior Samantha Adams (Mickleton, NJ/Padua Academy) in the pole vault.

Junior Chelsea Miles (Media, PA/Penncrest) is a nine-time MAC medalist in jumps, and will look for gold in all three jumping events (long, high and triple).

Action in 17 men's and 17 women's events will begin at 11:00 a.m., with eight schools in competition at the championships.