FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
S-124-07-08
Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Four Elizabethtown College Athletes to Compete at NCAA Division III Track and Field Championships

Pictured, from left: Drew Graybeal, Kevin Clark, Erin Fisher and Tiffany Kulp.

ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. --- Four members of the Elizabethtown College men's and women's track and field teams will compete at the NCAA Division III championships at the University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh, beginning Thursday and continuing through Saturday.

For the men, senior Kevin Clark (Horsham, PA/Hatboro-Horsham) will compete in the decathlon and the pole vault, while senior Drew Graybeal (Woodbine, MD/Glenelg) is entered in the 800 meters. On the women's side, senior Erin Fisher (McEwensville, PA/Warrior Run) will run in both the 5,000 and 10,000 meters, and junior Tiffany Kulp (Perkasie, PA/Pennridge) is slated to participate in the 1,500 meters.

Clark is competing in the pole vault (Thursday, 6:00 p.m.) for the third straight year at the outdoor championships, and in the decathlon (Thursday, 1:00 p.m. and Friday, 2:00 p.m.) for the second consecutive season. He is a four-time All-American in the pole vault (three times indoor, once outdoor) and was the 2007 NCAA Division III indoor champion and 2006 Division III outdoor runner-up.

In March, Clark finished fourth in the pole vault with a height of 16 feeet, 5 1/2 inches at the Division III indoor championships. He was named the Middle Atlantic Conference Outdoor Track Athlete of the Year after winning the 110 hurdles, 400 hurdles and pole vault as the Blue Jays won their second straight MAC championship.

He qualified for the pole vault with a mark of 16 feet, 2 3/4 inches at the Messiah Invitational on April 11, and set a school record in the decathlon with an NCAA-qualifying score of 6,648 points at the same meet. Clark set the school record in the pole vault of 16 feet, 6 inches at Shippensburg in 2006.

Graybeal is entered in the 800 meters (Friday, 7:35 p.m.) at the Division III outdoor championships for the second straight year, finishing sixth last season with a time of 1:54.18 to earn All-America honors for the fourth time in his career.

He previously was named All-America in the 400 meters at the 2008 indoor championships, in the 800 meters at the 2007 indoor championships, and in the distance medley relay at the 2006 indoor championships.

Graybeal is seeded fourth with a time of 1:50.99 that he established at the Swarthmore Last Chance Meet on May 13. He will be looking to break the school outdoor record in the 800 meters of 1:50.66 set in 2006 by Tyson Evensen.

In addition to the 800 meters, Graybeal also qualified in the 400 meters but declined entry to the event in order to concentrate on the 800 meters.

Fisher is entered with a time of 17:20.60 in the 5,000 meters (Saturday, 4:55 p.m.) set at Swarthmore, and 36:03.08 in the 10,000 meters (Thursday, 7:30 p.m.) set at the Penn Relays. She competed in the 5,000 meters at this year's Division III indoor championships and in the 10,000 meters at last year's outdoor meet.

The two-time defending MAC indoor and outdoor champion in the 5,000 meters, Fisher is also the two-time MAC champion in cross country, where she earned All-America honors with a 15th-place finish at the 2007 Division III championships.

She will look to break the Elizabethtown College records in both the 5,000 meters and 10,000 meters, which were set by Melissa St. Clair '05 during the 2005 season. St. Clair ran 17:14.79 in the 5,000 meters at the Division III outdoor championships en route to earning All-America honors, and was timed in 35:46.62 in the 10,000 meters at the Penn Relays.

Kulp is a first-time qualifier for the NCAA Division III championships, having earned a berth in the 1,500 meters (Thursday, 5:15 p.m.) with a time of 4:36.03 at Swarthmore on May 13 that broke the school record of 4:36.33 set in 2005 by Katie Garner.

She is the three-time defending MAC outdoor champion in the 1,500 meters and has also won three straight gold medals in the 800 meters at the MAC indoor championships. In all, Kulp has claimed 10 MAC championships (eight individual, two relay) during her Blue Jay career.

Action begins Thursday at 1:00 p.m. with the men's decathlon, and continues through Saturday at 5:55 p.m. with the men's 4x400-meter relay.

NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships
at University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh
Elizabethtown College entries

(All times Eastern Daylight Time)
Thursday, May 22
Decathlon (day one), 1:00 p.m.: Kevin Clark
Women's 1,500 meters (trials), 5:15 p.m.: Tiffany Kulp
Men's Pole vault, 6:00 p.m.: Kevin Clark
Women's 10,000 meters, 7:30 p.m.: Erin Fisher

Friday, May 23
Decathlon (day two), 2:00 p.m.: Kevin Clark
Men's 800 meters (trials), 7:35 p.m.: Drew Graybeal

Saturday, May 24
Women's 1,500 meters (finals), 2:20 p.m.: Tiffany Kulp
Men's 800 meters (finals), 4:00 p.m.: Drew Graybeal
Women's 5,000 meters, 4:55 p.m.: Erin Fisher