Six First-Place Finishes Lead Red Raider Track to PSAC East Championship
Feb. 11, 2006
KUTZTOWN, Pa. - The Shippensburg
University men’s and women’s track and field teams each captured
their first team championships of the season on Saturday as both totaled
192.50 points in winning the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC)
East Championship held at Kutztown University.
Both the Lady Raiders and Red Raiders won in convincing fashion as the men held
a 44.5-point margin over second-place Kutztown University while the women won
with a margin of 31 points, also over Kutztown.
The women had four athletes finish in first-place led by senior Flo Yerokun (Perkiomenville,
Pa./Spring-Ford) who finished the 55-meter dash in a time of 7.37 seconds,
just ahead of freshman teammate Siobhan Richards (York Haven, Pa./York
Haven) who came in second with a time of 7.43 seconds.
Freshman Kristen McGoldrick (Boothwyn, Pa./Garnet Valley) took
home top honors in the 800-meter run with a time 2:24.12, nearly three seconds
faster than her team-best time set at the Bison Opener back on December 3.
In the women’s high jump, junior Monica Speca (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Trinity) finished
first with a leap of 5-feet, 3-inches, tying her team-best mark set at the Bison
Opener. Freshman Christine Kihm (Quakertown, Pa./Quakertown) won
her third pole vault title this year after finishing first with a mark of 10-feet,
6-inches.
Other notable finishers for the women on Saturday included freshman Ashleigh
Helfrick (Greencastle, Pa./James Buchanan) who was second in the 500-meter
dash, junior Christine Walker (Corapolis, Pa./Upper Moreland) who
placed second in the 5,000-meter run, senior Anna Mack (Olyphant, Pa./Lakeland) who
earned second in the 55-meter hurdles and senior Sonia Spriggs (Avondale,
Pa./Avondale) who was second in the shot put.
On the men’s side, Shippensburg took home the top four finishes in the
mile run with senior John Somers (Stroudsburg, Pa./Stroudsburg) taking
home first-place in a time of 4:27.10. Just last week, Somers, the PSAC Men’s
Track Athlete of the Week, posted an NCAA provisional qualifying time of 4:14.74
in the mile at the New Balance Collegiate Invitational.
Junior Greg Weiss (Newfoundland, N.J./West Milford) was second,
followed by senior Dan Helfrick (Greencastle, Pa./James Buchanan) in
third and junior Stephen Lobianco (Dover, Pa./Northeastern York) in
fourth.
Sophomore Jamal James (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin) was
first in the 200-meter dash with a time of 22.48 seconds, improving upon his
PSAC-leading time by 0.04 seconds after finishing third in the 55-meter dash.
Senior Kenrick Marsh (Norristown, Pa./Norristown) posted a conference
qualifying time of 1:59.28 in the 800-meter run before freshman Dillon
Gracey (Mercersburg, Pa./James Buchanan) place first in the 5,000-meter
run.
Junior Bernie Richards (York Haven, Pa./Northeastern York) won
the 55-meter hurdles in 7.97 seconds and sophomore Mark Anderson (Nanty
Glo, Pa./Central Cambria) took home top honors in the weight throw with
a toss of 14.74 meters.
Freshman Jonathan Hughes (Malvern, Pa./Great Valley) qualified
for the PSAC Championships with a second-place finish in the 3,000 meters with
a time of 8:55.88 while sophomore Justin Ackerman (Broomal, Pa./Marple
Newton) placed second in the weight throw behind Anderson, also qualifying
for the conference meet with a mark of 14.09 meters.
Both teams return to action next Friday, February 17 at the Orange and Maroon Classic hosted by Susquehanna University.
- Red Raider Track and Field -
