Women's Track Looks to Make Strong Showing at PSAC Indoor Championships
Feb. 24, 2006
By PETE NEVINS
of The Pocono Record
EAST STROUDSBURG, Pa. - A total of 21 former champions, 17 from last year, will head the field for the fifth annual Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships Saturday and Sunday at East Stroudsburg University.
Competition will run Saturday from 2:00 to 7:00 p.m. and Sunday from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. with the running and jumping events in the LeRoy J. Koehler Fieldhouse and the weight events in the Zimbar-Liljenstein Gymnasium.
All 14 PSAC schools will be represented in the women’s division while 13 teams, all except Edinboro, will have teams in the men’s division.
On the women’s side, Kutztown, champion the last three years, Shippensburg, winner of the PSAC East Challenge, and Slippery Rock are the favorites. Lock Haven, the winner in 2002 and 2003, IUP, Clarion and East Stroudsburg could be next in line.
There are seven 2005 women’s champion back. This includes two sprinters, senior Flo Yerokun (Perkiomenville, Pa./Spring-Ford) of Shippensburg in the 55 and Theresa Manera of ESU in the 200, and two weight competitors, Nicole James of West Chester in the shot put and two-time winner Alison Maurer of Kutztown in the 20-pound weight throw.
The others are Julie Nemergut of Edinboro, mile, Rachel Lanzel of Edinboro, 5,000, and Abby McKissick, Slippery Rock, pole vault.
Despite the presence of two defending champions,
the sprints should be wide open.
Ashley Hartman of Lock Haven, 7.18, has the top season time in the
55 dash at 7.18. Two Slippery Rock sprinters, Janiece Rash, 7.22,
and Vera
McDaniel,
7.36,
and Yerokun, 7.37, are next on the seed list.
McDaniel at 25.82 and Hartman at 25.93 are the top seeds in the 200. Laura Kline of Kutztown, 26.02, and freshman Doofan Tor-Agbidye of Kutztown, 26.12, also will be battling for top finishes. Manera is only the eighth seed at 26.68.
Kline boasts the top seed time in the 400 at 58.20 with Maggie Borden of Lock Haven at 59.02 and Melissa Sopher of Slippery Rock and Dana Glaviano of West Chester both at 59.22.
The 800 field will be led by Holly Urban of Clarion, 2:14.83, just under the conference record of 2:15.52. Michele Kelly of Edinboro, 2:16.41, and Joanna Horstmann of Kutztown, 2:19.45, also have bettered 2:20.
Leading competitors in the mile will include Cheryl Dingman of Kutztown, the top seed at 5:10.01, Erin Richard of Clarion, 5:10.10 and Michele Kelly of Edinboro, 5:10.60 and Nicole Blaesser of IUP, 5:10.96. Nemergut will not defend her mile title.
Blaesser holds the top time in the 3,000 at 10:19.91 ahead of Lanzel, 10:26.48, and Erin Richard of Clarion, 10:26.57. Nemergut is fifth seeded in the 3,000 at 10:28.80.
Lanzel is the only runner to have bettered 18 minutes in the 5,000 at 17:50.00. Tasha Wheatley of Clarion, 18:26.76, and Charity Learn of Mansfield, 18:33.06, are second and third on the seeding list.
In the 55 hurdles, Andi Rose of Slippery Rock will be one of the meet’s heaviest favorites with a season best time of 8.16 which equals the conference record. Jayme Ferraro of ESU, 8.43, and Danielle Scardino of West Chester, 8.54, have the next best times.
Lahnor Ridley of IUP, top seed at 17-9, Jenny Kirsch of Slippery Rock, 17-8, and Ferraro, 17-7 1⁄4, should battle it out in the long jump.
Freshman Diane Kress of Clarion, 37-3, Ridley, 37-1, Sunny Daugherty of Slippery Rock, 36-6, and freshman Sarah Thiebaud of West Chester, 36-4, have the best marks of the season in the triple jump.
Five high jumpers have leaped to heights within an inch and a quarter of each of other. Louise O’Rourke of Slippery Rock has the best mark of 5-5 followed by junior Monica Speca (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley) of Shippensburg and freshmen Chelsea Morse of Lock Haven, both at 5-4, and Cassie Williams of IUP and freshman Brooke McMurray of Kutztown, both at 5-3 3⁄4.
A freshman, Jennifer Hansen of Slippery Rock, will be favored in the pole vault in which she has cleared 12-0 3⁄4, more than six inches better than the four-year-old conference record of 11-5 3⁄4. Her toughest competition will be come from her Angela Kramer of Lock Haven, 11-1 3⁄4, and her Slippery Rock teammate and 2005 winner McKissick, 11-6 1⁄4.
James figures to repeat in the shot put based on her top seed performance of 46-6 which ranks seventh in the nation. Heather Kozuchowski of Slippery Rock has thrown 45-3 and could surprise. Gretchen Colwell of IUP, 41-4 1⁄4, senior Sonia Spriggs (Avondale, Pa./Avondale) of Shippensburg, 41-3, also should be high placers.
The weight throw could be a three-way battle among teammates Maurer, 54-11 1⁄2, and Christine Procopio of Kutztown, 53-3 3⁄4, and junior Megan Schweighofer (Tyler Hill, Pa./Honesdale) of Shippensburg, 51-4 1⁄4. Gretchen Colwell of IUP, 50-9 1⁄2, also has bettered 50 feet.
Renee Marchand, last year’s runner up, hopes to move up a place in the pentathlon and has a season best of 3,358 points. Leslie Martin of ESU has totaled 3,260 points and could challenge her. Amanda Reinmiller of Lock Haven has the third best pre-meet mark at 2,863.
The women’s 4 x 400-meter relay could wind up as a battle between Slippery Rock, 3:57.52 and Kutztown, 4:01.58. Defending champion ESU, the fifth seed at 4:07.91, has two returning runners listed in Ferraro and Ashley Janosko.
In the 4 x 800, 2005 winner Kutztown will have a brand new relay team based on its listed entries, but still has the conference’s season best time of 9:19.56. ESU is second at 10:13.94.
Clarion is the top seed of 12:08.78 in the distance medley relay. Defending champion IUP, which has only Kate Farnsworth back on its entry list, is next at 12:28.00.
-
Lady Raider Track and Field -
