Red Raider Track Looking To Defend Its PSAC Championship This Weekend
Feb. 22, 2007
EAST STROUDSBURG, Pa. - In
the history of PSAC men's indoor track, two schools have been the name
of the game: Lock Haven and Shippensburg. Over the last two years, it has
been the Red Raiders who have claimed dominance with back-to-back championships,
and this weekend Shippensburg will travel to Koehler Field House
as a heavy favorite to record a three-peat.
Under the guidance of second-year
head coach Dave Osanitsch, the Red Raider men's indoor track and field
squad is primed for another impressive performance after thriving at several
meets throughout the course of the season.
In the sprinting events, Shippensburg sophomore Jamal James (Harrisburg/Central
Dauphin) will be looking to improve his season-best time of 6.47 seconds
in the 55-meter dash (the time was calculated based off his time from the
60-meter dash at Bison Opener, which is good enough for the second-best in
the PSAC this season) and his time of 22.49 seconds in the 200-meter dash.
For the latter event, James will be looking to replicate last year's winning
time of 22.12 seconds, which broke the meet and facility record and was good
enough for first place.
Joining James in the sprints will be sophomore James Wilson (Ephrata/Ephrata),
senior Ryan Koppenheffer (Harrisburg/Central Dauphin) and
sophomore Joe
Wagner (Biglerville/Biglerville), whose time of 49.62 seconds in
the 400-meter dash at the Bison Open in January is the second-fastest in
the
PSAC this
year.
The Red Raiders are simply dominant in throwing events, and Shippensburg
boasts the top qualifiers in both the weight throw and the shot put. Under
assistant coach Kurt Dunkel in the past eight seasons, Shippensburg has boasted
95 conference placewinners, 15 conference champions, 35 NCAA qualifiers,
nine All-Americans, 10 school record holders, three conference championship
record holders and one Academic All-American.
Junior Mark Anderson (Nanty Glo/Central Cambria) set a new
school record while provisionally qualifying for the NCAA with a mark of
53-7 1/4
in the shot put at the seventh annual Dick DeSchriver Invitational (held
inside Koehler Field House) to place hom at the top of the PSAC. Anderson's
shot put broke the previous school record held by Adam Escamilla (53-3 1/2
in 2004).
Meanwhile, senior Nate Reider (York/Dallastown) recorded
the top weight throw of the season with a throw of 59-9 at the PSAC
East Challenge.
Anderson qualified second for the same event, while Reider qualified in seventh
for the shot put. Other competitors include sophomore David Green
(Waynesboro/South Western), sophomore Shaun Minnich (Churchville/Council
Rock South) and junior
Justin Ackerman (Broomal/Marple Newton).
Under the tutelage of cross-country head coach Steve Spence,
Shippensburg's distance runners are well-prepared for a strong showing this
weekend as well.
In the 1-mile run, freshman Josh Neyhart (Kutztown/Kutztown) recorded
a time of 4:18.30 in the 1-mile run at Seventh Annual New Balance Collegiate
Invitational erlier this month, which is the fifth-best in the PSAC this
season. Senior
Allen Hanslovan (Morisdale/West Branch) qualified third
for the 3,000-meter run with a time of 8:31.49 at the Bucknell Heptagonal
in Jan., and he
will looking for another strong showing in the championships after winning
the 1-mile run in 2005 and finishing second last year behind fellow Red Raider
John Somers.
Meanwhile, senior Bernie Richards (York Haven, Pa./Northeastern York) will
be looking to improve upon last year's second-place finish in the 55-meter
high hurdles with a first-place performance this year. Richards' time of
7.68 seconds at the Susquehanna Open is the second best in the PSAC
this season behind Lock Haven's Paul Martin. Also, freshmen Mike
Edwards (Bethlehem/Liberty) and McKenzy Rene (Lebanon/Cedar
Crest) will be looking
to post solid performances in the long jump and triple jumps respectively.
Last year, Shippensburg finished the PSAC Indoor Championships with four
individual championships, seven runner-up finishes and its second-straight
team Championship. This year, the Red Raiders feture a versatile lineup that
has them geared up to win its third in a row.
- Red Raider Track and Field -
