STEVE CARR NAMED HEAD COACH AT THIEL (8/11/09)
Thiel College
has hired Steve Carr as its new head men's & women's
track & field coach. Carr, who replaces Ricardo Franklin,
is a 13-year collegiate assistant who most recently spent three
years as assistant coach at Wheaton (Mass.) College. Carr is a
1995 graduate of Allegheny College, where he was a four-year
conference champion in the pole vault.
GENEVA HEAD COACH BRET OTTE RESIGNS (8/2/09)
Geneva head cross country and track & field coach
Bret Otte has resigned to take the head track & field
coaching position at his alma mater, Calvin College. Brian
Yowler, who has served as Otte's cross country assistant for
the past three years, was named the program's new head coach. A
national search for a new track & field head coach is underway.
FRANKLIN RESIGNS AS THIEL T&F HEAD COACH
Thiel College head track & field coach
Ricardo Franklin has resigned his position. A 2002
Thiel alumnus, Franklin recently completed his second season
with the Tomcats. A national search to find Franklin’s
replacement will begin immediately.
FOUR FROM PAC EARN ESPN XC/T&F HONORS
Four PAC student-athletes have been honored with selection
to the
2009 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District II College
Division Cross Country/Track & Field teams for
men and
women, released by the College Sports Information Directors
of America (CoSIDA) on June 4. On the women's side, Waynesburg
senior
Megan Grover (3.95 grade-point average,
biology/pre-dental) was a first team selection, while second
team honors went to Grove City senior
Julia Seward
(3.96, English) and Bethany junior
Jodi Bodo (3.87,
communication). The lone men's honoree on the first team was
junior
Derek Kruse (3.96, biology) of Grove City. Both Grover
and Kruse now advance to the Academic All-America ballot.
THOMAS MORE TO ADD TRACK & FIELD PROGRAM
Thomas More College Director of Athletics
Terry Connor announced on
May 28 that
the College will add men’s and women’s track & field to the
school’s athletic department. The two teams will compete on
the club level during the 2009-2010 academic year and the
College will look at elevating the teams to varsity status the
following year. When the teams are elevated to varsity status it
will bring the number of total intercollegiate sports at Thomas
More to 16.
TOMCAT TRIO EARNS ALL-AMERICA HONORS, BAUMGARD 12TH IN HIGH
JUMP AT NCAAs
The final day of competition at the
2009 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships,
hosted by Marietta College in Marietta, Ohio, concluded on May
23.
Thiel College saw all three of its runners earn All-America
honors with top eight performances. Junior Alex Eaton
paced the Tomcats by placing second in the 400 meter dash with a
school-record time of 47.56. Senior teammate Dorran Coley
earned his fourth consecutive A-A honor in the 110 meter high
hurdles after finishing sixth in 14.60. Finally, the Tomcat
women were paced by Cara Riffe, who came in sixth in the
400 meter dash in 56.47. Washington & Jefferson was represented
at nationals by senior Summer Baumgard, who placed 12th
with a personal-best mark of 5-2 1/2.
THREE TOMCAT RUNNERS REACH NCAA FINALS
Three Thiel College runners each advanced to the finals in
their respective events on day two of the
2009 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships,
hosted by Marietta College in Marietta, Ohio on May 22. Thiel
senior Dorran Coley advanced to the 110 meter high hurdle
finals for the fourth time in his career with a prelim time of
14.55. His junior teammate, Alex Eaton, reached the
finals in the 400 meter dash with a school-record time of 48.87,
the third-best time in the preliminary heats. Finally, the Thiel
women were well represented by junior Cara Riffe, who
advanced to the finals with a school-record mark of 56.10. The
finals for all three events will take place on Saturday, May 23.
PAC DUO COMPETES IN JAVELIN AT NCAAs
Two PAC track & field standouts competed in the javelin on
Thursday, May 21 at the
2009 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships,
hosted by Marietta College in Marietta, Ohio. On the men's side,
Washington & Jefferson senior Curt Jones just missed the
championship cut
as he
finished in 10th place with a toss of 189-8 (57.81m). In
women's competition, Waynesburg sophomore Elisha Jones
placed
11th overall with a toss of 132-11 (40.53m). The
championships continue on Friday and Saturday (May 22-23).
SIX PAC T&F STANDOUTS QUALIFY FOR NCAAs
Six PAC track & field standouts from three different schools
have qualified to compete at the
2009 NCAA
Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships, taking
place May 21-23 at Don Drumm Stadium at Marietta College in
Marietta, Ohio. Thiel leads the PAC contingent with three
qualifiers:
Alex Eaton (men's 400 meter dash),
Dorran Coley (men's 110 meter high hurdles) and
Cara Riffe (women's 400 meter dash). W&J is sending
Curt Jones (men's javelin) and
Summer Baumgard (women's high jump), while Waynesburg
will send
Elisha Jones (women's javelin)
PAC COMPETES AT ECAC D-III CHAMPIONSHIPS
Several PAC schools competed over the weekend at the
ECAC Division
III Track & Field Championships, hosted by Springfield
College in Springfield, Mass. The conference was paced by the
Waynesburg women, who finished seventh in team competition
behind freshman Marybeth Rocco's winning toss in the
javelin.
Saint Vincent was led by Adam Smith, as the senior
placed second in the 5,000 meter run to help the Bearcat men
place 17th in men's competition. For
Grove City,
Chris Huber placed fourth in the shot put, while
Bethany was paced by Jodi Bodo, who finished fifth in
the 400 meter dash.
GCC MEN REPEAT AS TRACK & FIELD CHAMPS
The Grove City College men repeated as team champions at the
2009 PAC Track & Field Championships, hosted by Westminster
at Harold Burry Stadium in New Wilmington, Pa. The Wolverine men
posted 201 points to easily outdistance Washington & Jefferson
(128). Alex Eaton was named men's track MVP, while W&J's
Josh Buckley was men's field MVP. Coach of the Year
laurels went to Mark FitzPatrick of W&J.
Complete individual results are
now online.
FOUR THIEL RUNNERS NAMED ALL-AMERICANS AT 2009 NCAA
D-III INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS
The
2009 NCAA
Division III Indoor National Championships took place in Terre Haute,
Ind. on March 13-14, resulting in four men's student-athletes
from the conference earning All-America honors.
Thiel College took home four of the awards en route to a
ninth-place team finish: Alex Eaton was second in the
400 meter dash; Dorran Coley was third in the 55 meter
high hurdles; and Deighton Williams and Ethan Rowe
joined Eaton and Coley for a sixth-place finish in the 4x400
relay.
THIEL SENDS FIVE TO D-III INDOOR NATIONALS
The
Thiel College men's track and field team will be sending
five runners to the
2009 NCAA
Division III Indoor National Championships at Terre Haute,
Ind. on Friday, March 13.
PAC TEAMS, ATHLETES EARN USTFCCCA HONORS
Four track & field teams and seven student-athletes from
the PAC have earned academic honors from the
U.S. Track & Field and Cross
Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA). Waynesburg (3.44 GPA),
Westminster (3.171 GPA) and Washington & Jefferson (3.10 GPA) were
each named
All-Academic Women's Teams for maintaining a team grade-point average of
3.0 or higher. In addition, six PAC individuals were tabbed to the
All-Academic Women's team by posting a 3.25 GPA while meeting an NCAA
Division III automatic or provisional qualifying standard:
Jessica Cooper, Abbey Basta and Jill Diamond of
Westminster; Ashley Dodd and Elisha Jones of
Waynesburg; and Kelli Gee of W&J. On the men's side,
Westminster (3.035) was the lone
men's team represented, while Virgil Marshall of W&J was
the lone
male individual honored.
PAC PLACES 10 ON COSIDA/ESPN THE MAGAZINE ACADEMIC
ALL-DISTRICT II XC/T&F TEAMS
A total of 10 PAC athletes (eight women, two men)bhave been
named to the 2008 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District II
College Division Cross Country/Track & Field teams for
men and
women, announced on June 5 by the College Sports Information
Directors of America. Five of the honorees were first team
selections who now will move on to the Academic All-America ballot,
with teams scheduled to be announced later in the month. Both men's
honorees - seniors
Tim Monaghan on Waynesburg and
Virgil Marshall of W&J - were first team honorees. Women's
first team selections were W&J senior
Kelli Gee, Waynesburg junior
Ashley Dodd, and Grove City junior
Julia Seward.
Second team laurels went to the Waynesburg duo of senior
Michelle Cross and sophomore
Melissa Cox, W&J senior
Lauren Weinheimer, Westminster senior
Leanna Stitt, and Bethany sophomore
Jodi Bodo.
RECORD SEVEN PAC ATHLETES EARN ALL-AMERICA HONORS AT 2008 NCAA
CHAMPIONSHIPS
A conference-record seven PAC student-athletes (five men, two
women) earned All-America honors at the
2008 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships,
which took place May 22-24 at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh.
Leading the way on the men's side was Thiel freshman
Josh Jones, who finished second in the nation in the high
jump. Jones, the 2008 NCAA indoor high jump national champion,
cleared 6-11 1/2 (2.12m), the same as national champion Cody
Stelzer of Whitworth who won due to fewer jumps. Two PAC
athletes earned A-A honors in the 110 meter high hurdles, as Thiel
junior
Dorran Coley placed third (14.39) while Bethany sophomore
Matt Cruse was seventh (14.56). Tomcat senior
Alex Eaton finished seventh in the 400 (48.02), while W&J
senior
Doug Melton was eighth in the discus (162-8, 49.59m) to
round out the honorees. Thiel placed in a tie for 19th in the men's
team race with 16 points. On the women's side, leading the way was
Westminster senior
Jessica Cooper, who placed third in the high jump (5-5 3/4,
1.67m), while freshman
Elisha Jones of Waynesburg also earned All-America
recognition in the javelin with a toss of 138-6 (42.22m).
Westminster placed in a tie for 44th (6 points) in team competition.
A complete recap of all 16 PAC
men's &
women's
performers is online.
RECORD 16 PAC STUDENT-ATHLETES QUALIFY FOR NCAA D-III
OUTDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS
A conference-record 16 PAC student-athletes (11 women, five men)
have qualified and been selected to compete at the 2008
NCAA Division III Men's & Women's Outdoor Track & Field
Championships, scheduled for
May 22-24 in Oshkosh, Wisc. Leading
the men's qualifiers will be freshman
Josh Jones of Thiel, the 2008 NCAA Division III indoor national champion in the high jump, who
will look to capture the outdoor title as well. He is
joined by
Tomcat teammates Dorran Coley (110 high hurdles) and Alex Eaton
(400) as well as
Bethany's Matt Cruse (110 & 400 hurdles) and
W&J's
Doug Melton (discus). On the women's side,
Westminster's Megan
Harding (100) will join the qualifying Titan 4x100 relay team (Abbey Basta,
Jill Diamond, Seun Olarewaju), while
Patrice Page (400) headlines
the Thiel 4x100 qualifying team (Kate DeGeorge, Chavonne Green,
LaToya Locke). Locke will also compete in the triple jump at
the national meet. Other PAC female qualifiers included
Jessica
Cooper of Westminster (high Jump) and
the Waynesburg duo of
Elisha Jones (javelin) and Ashley Dodd (pole vault).
MORGAN NAMED REGIONAL COACH OF THE YEAR
Thiel College head men's and
women's track and field coach Clyde Morgan was
named the
Mideast Region Men's Track & Field Coach of the Year on May 21
by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).
Morgan was also the 2008 PAC Men's Track & Field Coach of the Year.
WU'S JONES, W&J'S MELTON CAPTURE TITLES
AT 2008 ECAC OUTDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS
A pair of PAC athletes captured event titles at the
2008 ECAC Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships,
hosted by Springfield College in Springfield, Mass., on May 15-16.
Waynesburg freshman Elisha Jones captured the women's javelin
with a toss of 41.71 meters (136-10), while Washington & Jefferson
senior
Doug Melton won the men's discus with a mark of 46.45
meters (152-5).
PAC RECORDS FALL AS GROVE CITY CAPTURES 2008 PAC TRACK & FIELD
CHAMPIONSHIPS
A total of 13 conference records were broken at the
2008 PAC Men's & Women's Track & Field
Championships, which took place on Saturday, April 26, 2008
at Washington & Jefferson's Cameron Stadium in Washington, Pa. On
the men's side, Grove City used a strong performance in the field
events to narrowly hold off Thiel and give the Wolverines their
fourth consecutive league men's crown. A new champion was crowned on
the women's side, as Westminster outlasted defending champion W&J.
Thiel swept the men's awards, with junior Dorran Coley named
Track MVP, freshman Josh Jones being tabbed Field MVP, and
Clyde Morgan earning Coach of the Year recognition. Westminster
took all three women's awards, as junior Megan Harding was
Track MVP, senior Jessica Cooper was Field MVP, and Tim
McNeil was Coach of the Year.
All-Conference performances are listed online.
