Elizabethtown College Women's Track and Field
Thursday, April 27, 2006

Blue Jays Win Centennial/MAC 4x400m at Penn Relays for Third Year in a Row 

PHILADELPHIA , Pa. --- Elizabethtown won the College Women’s Centennial/MAC 4x400m relay at the Penn Relays Carnival for the third year in a row Thursday evening. This year’s Etown group posted the best time thus far in the event for the Blue Jays at Penn, winning in 3:57.631 to beat out second-place Haverford by nearly five seconds.

Furthermore, Etown’s lineup of first-year student Tina Bucci (North Wales, PA/North Penn), first-year student Katelyn John (Camp Hill, PA/Cumberland Valley), sophomore Nicole Murphy (Hatboro, PA/Hatboro-Horsham) and Erin Lichti (Shickley, NE/Shickley Public) set a program record in the race, besting the old Etown mark of 3:58.02. Additionally, the Blue Jays' time Thursday set a new Penn Relays record for the Centennial/MAC race, besting the old record by Western Maryland College, now called McDaniel College, in 2001.

The Blue Jay troupe also qualified provisionally for the NCAA Division III Championships in May, besting the provisional qualifying standard of 3:58.00. Bucci ran the opening leg in 58.1 seconds; John completed the second leg in 60.4 seconds; Murphy finished the third leg in 60.3 seconds; and Lichti anchored the race in 58.6 seconds.

Elizabethtown will continue to compete at the Penn Relays Friday, when Kevin Clark (Horsham, PA/Hatboro-Horsham) competes in the men’s pole vault beginning at 10:00 a.m. Also, Bucci, John, Lindsey Oliver (State Line, PA/Greencastle-Antrim) and Lichti will compete in the women’s 4x200m at 1:55 p.m. Friday, and Tyson Evensen (West Sand Lake, NY/Averill Park), Patrick Donovan (South Pasadena, CA/St. Francis), Jason Mastroianni (Macungie, PA/Emmaus) and Drew Graybeal (Sykesville, MD/Glenelg) will compete in the men’s 4x400m relay at 5:30 p.m. Friday.

At Philadelphia, Pa.
Penn Relays Carnival
College Women Centennial/MAC 4x400m Relay:
1. Elizabethtown (Tina Bucci/Katelyn John/Nicole Murphy/Erin Lichti), 3:57.631*#
2. Haverford, 4:02.372
3. Messiah, 4:04.246
4. Lebanon Valley, 4:06.788
5. Susquehanna, 4:09.446
6. Ursinus, 4:10.674
7. McDaniel, 4:12.987
8. DeSales, 4:16.485
9. Franklin & Marshall, 4:16.707
10. Bryn Mawr, 4:31.225

* Elizabethtown program record
# Meets NCAA Division III Outdoor Championship provisional qualifying standard