LANDOVER, Md.- The Monmouth University men's track & field team posted a second place team finish on Sunday at the 2009 Northeast Conference Indoor Championships, held at the Prince Georges Sport and Learning Center in Landover, Md.

“We were in the top two and in the hunt for the title but were not good enough to win today, “ said head coach Joe Compagni.

The Hawks finished with 116 team points behind Saint Francis (Pa.) who had 121 points for the victory.   The next closest team was LIU, who finished with 84 points.  The Red Flash needed to score in the final event, the 4x400 relay to claim victory, which they did earning a seventh place finish.

The Hawks 4x400 relay team of freshmen Geoff Navarro (Mays Landing, N.J./Absegami), Chris Rutherford (Toms River, N.J./Toms River East), Kevin Merrigan (Marlton, N.J./Cherokee) and sophomore Chris Taiwo (Budd Lake, N.J./Mt. Olive) earned second team all-conference honors with their second place finish (3:20.85).

Rutherford picked up Second Team All-NEC honors in his first collegiate championship meet, crossing the line second in the 60m hurdles with his time of 8.33.  Fellow rookie Stevenson Cajuste (Egg Harbor, N.J./Egg Harbor) earned team points for MU with his sixth place performance in the same event, finishing in 8.50 seconds.  Senior Yasser Barr (Lincroft, N.J./Middletown South) claimed third place for the Blue & White in the 800m with his time of 2:00.63.

Senior Larry Lundy (Friendsville, Pa./Montrose Area) earned Second Team All-NEC honor with his second place weight throw of 59' 6 ?”.  Two other Hawks scored in the event, with Shawn Sabo (Oakland, N.J./Indian Hills) placing sixth (55' 9 ?”) and Vincent Elardo (Forked River, N.J./Lacey) coming in seventh with his mark of 53' 6 ?”.

A pair of Hawks, Taiwo and Navarro, tied for fourth place in the 60m with their time of 6.98, which was an IC4A qualifying time.  Taiwo was also fifth in the 200m (22.34), while Navarro finished in seventh in the same event with his time of 22.64.  Sophomore Ben Hutterer (Saxonburg, Pa./Knoch) also earned a sixth place finish, finishing with a time of 15:23.47 in the 5000m.

Julio Rodriguez (Bound Brook, N.J./Bound Brook) and John Krajunus (West Keansburg, N.J./Raritan) finished fifth and sixth in the high jump, each clearing 6' 1 ?”.  Merrigan and Reggie McLeod (Jersey City, N.J./McNair Academy) claimed the final two scoring slots in the 400m, with times of 50.86 and 51.02, respectively.  Monmouth's DMR team of  Barr, Jason Kelsey (Ramsey, N.J./Don Bosco), David Balzer (Staten Island, N.Y./St, Joseph) and Vin Improta (Staten Island, N.Y./Staten Island Tech) were seventh with a combined time of 10:42.98.  Taiwo finished the day with an eighth place effort in the triple jump, hitting a distance of 42' 6 ?”.

The Hawks will try to qualify for post-season events next Friday at the NYU Fastrack Invitational at the Armory.

Men's All NEC Selections
First Team
Tom Ciccoli                 Shot Put

Second Team
Larry Lundy                Weight Throw
Kevin Merrigan                        4x400 Relay
Geoff Navarro             4x400 Relay
Chris Rutherford          60m Hurdles
Chris Rutherford          4x400 Relay
Chris Taiwo                 4x400 Relay