FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
S-117-07-08
Thursday, May 1, 2008

Track and Field Ready for MAC Championships

ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. --- The Elizabethtown College men's and women's track and field teams will be in action at the Middle Atlantic Conference Outdoor Championships at Widener University.

The three-day meet began Thursday afternoon with day one of the heptathlon and decathlon, along with the men's and women's 10,000 meters. Full competition will start Friday as nine schools compete in 20 men's and 20 women's events.

The Blue Jay men are the defending MAC champions, winning their second title in four years last season. The Blue Jay women posted their best-ever finish in 2006 with a second-place result behind Messiah College.

Elizabethtown's men are led by seniors Kevin Clark (Horsham, PA/Hatboro-Horsham) and Drew Graybeal (Woodbine, MD/Glenelg), each of whom has won multiple MAC gold medals during their careers.

Clark is the three-time defending MAC champion in the pole vault, winning last year with a mark of 15 feet, 5 1/2 inches. He has also won a pair of golds as part of the 4x400-meter relay team, and was second in the long jump last season.

Graybeal is the defending conference champion in both the 400 and 800 meters, and has won those events at the indoor championships in each of the last two years. He has also won three outdoor gold medals in the 4x400-meter relay.

Sophomore A.J. Farris (Edgewood, MD/Joppatowne) took third in the 100 meters last year, while senior Ryan St. Clair (Chambersburg, PA/Chambersburg) was third in the steeplechase.

In field events, sophomore Mike Torre (Medford, NJ/Shawnee) was third in the javelin last season with a best throw of 186 feet, 3 inches.

Other top contenders will be junior Dylan Rulander (Russell, PA/Eisenhower) in the 800 and 1500 meters, senior Dave Bresnahan (Cinnaminson, NJ/Cinnaminson) in the 10,000 meters, Farris in the 200 meters, and Clark in the 400-meter hurdles.

For the women, junior Tiffany Kulp (Perkasie, PA/Pennridge) will chase her third straight gold medal in the 1,500 meters, after winning the mile run at the indoor championships. She is also favored to win the MAC title in the steeplechase, with a seed time 22 seconds faster than any other entry, after finishing second last season.

Senior Erin Fisher (McEwensville, PA/Warrior Run) is the defending MAC outdoor champion and two-time indoor champion in the 5,000 meters, and senior Jenna Riley (Reading, PA/Reading Central Catholic) will aim to defend her title in the triple jump (36 feet, 4 3/4 inches).

Junior Chelsea Miles (Media, PA/Penncrest) was runner-up in the high jump last season and took third in the triple jump, and will look to medal along with graduate student Lori Havrilak (West Grove, PA/St. Mark's, DE) in the 400 meters.