Men's Track Wins Third-Straight PSAC Outdoor Championship
May 14, 2005
MANSFIELD, Pa. - With a total of 145 points, the Shippensburg University men’s track and field team won its third consecutive Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Outdoor Track and Field Championship on Saturday at Mansfield University.
The Red Raiders won the title convincingly, holding a 57-point advantage over both Slippery Rock University and Kutztown University who each finished second with 88 points.
Senior Alton Richards (Williamsport, Pa./Williamsport) took home the championship in the 100-meter dash, winning the event in a time of 10.65, a mark that provisionally qualifies him for the second time for the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track and Field Championships. On April 9, he also posted a time of 10.65 seconds at the PSAC East Challenge at West Chester University.
In the 200-meter dash, Richards finished third with a time of 21.68 seconds. Richards’ teammate, freshman Jamal James (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin), came in second at 21.60 seconds. Richards was also the anchor leg on the Shippensburg 4x400-meter relay team that finished first and the 4x100-meter relay team that placed third.
James also finished second in the 100-meter dash in 10.69 seconds.
Other winners for the Red Raiders included junior John Somers (Stroudsburg, Pa./Stroudsburg) in the 1,500-meter run, junior Daniel Helfrick (Mercersburg, Pa./James Buchanon) in the 5,000 meters and senior Mark Piccolo (Quakertown, Pa./Quakertown).
Helfrick, who won the 10,000 meters with a new stadium record on Friday, won his second career championship on Saturday, finishing the 5,000 meters in a time of 15:02.81, almost a full eight seconds ahead of Jorge Medina of Indiana University (Pa.) in second-place. The mark was also a new stadium record.
Somers also won his second championship in the 1,500 meters with a mark of 4:02.61, marking the third-straight year a Shippensburg runner has won the event after sophomore Allen Hanslovan (Morrisdale, Pa./West Branch) finished first in 2004.
Hanslovan, who won the 1,500 meters a year ago
as a freshman, finished second behind Somers in 4:03.41. He also placed
seventh in the 5,000-meter run with a time of 15:35.63.
Marsh led other Red Raider place winners, taking second in the 800-meter run
in 1:54.17.
The 4x400-meter relay team of Piccolo, Richards, junior Steve Huffman (Montoursville, Pa./Montoursville) and junior Kenrick Marsh (Norristown, Pa./Norristown) finished first in a time of 3:14.13. Shippensburg, who is the two-time defending champion in the event, has won in three of the past four seasons with Piccolo running on all three teams.
For the 4x100-meter relay, the Shippensburg team of Huffman, James, Richards and sophomore Ryan Koppenheffer (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin) placed third in the finals after placing third in the prelims on Friday.
In the 400-meter hurdles, Piccolo won his second championship with a NCAA provisional qualifying time of 52.17 seconds. He also won the event as a freshman in 2002.
Sophomore Bernie Richards (York Haven, Pa./Northeastern York) finished sixth in the 100-meter hurdles while sophomores Stephen Lobianco (Dover, Pa./Northeastern York) and Dustin Willgohs (Lingonier, Pa./Ligonier Valley) placed fifth and sixth, respectively, in the 3,000-meter steeplechase.
As for the field events, junior Jake D’Arcangelo (Somerset, Pa./Somerset) was fifth in the high jump, freshman Troy Litten (Gettysburg, Pa./Gettysburg) was sixth in the pole vault and sophomore Carl Dean (Norristown, Pa./Norristown) and freshman Maurice Barbour (Chambersburg, Pa./Chambersburg) were fourth and sixth, respectively, in the triple jump.
Senior Adam Escamilla (Brunswick, Md./Brunswick) finished second in the shot put while senior All-American John Pacovsky (Kingston, Pa./Wyoming Valley West) just missed his first PSAC championship in the javelin by one inch, placing second with a NCAA provisional qualifying throw of 209-feet.
Sophomore Nate Reider (York, Pa./Dallastown) also had a NCAA provisionally qualifying throw in the javelin with a mark of 206-feet, 4-inches to finish fourth.
The 2005 NCAA Division II Outdoor Track and Field Championships will take place from May 26-28 at Elmer Gray Stadium in Abilene, Texas, hosted by Abilene Christian University.
- Red Raider Track and Field -
