PHILADELPHIA, Pa.- With a split squad, Monmouth University broke a school record at the Penn Relays and had a number of gold medal winners at the Lehigh Games on Saturday.
At Penn, Monmouth's 4x800 relay team of Danica Krivanos (Bound Brook, N.J./Bridgewater-Raritan), Aracelis Lantigua (Elizabeth, N.J./Elizabeth), Laura Embrey (West Long Branch, N.J./Shore Regtional) and Caitlin Lynam (Sparta, N.J./Sparta) ran a time of 9:18.00, which set a new school record.
Monmouth had a number of first place finishes at the Lehigh Games, starting with Colleen Rutecki's win in the 400m hurdles, finishing with a time of 1:04.00. Freshman Lindsey Walsh (Mt. Laurel, N.J./Lenape) was second in the eventh with her time of 1:05.00. Walsh also cleared 5'5 in the high jump for first place, with Jenn Tarsan (Middlesex, N.J./Middlesex) taking second with a similar mark. Lindsey Walsh was second in the long jump with 17'7, while MaryKate Walsh ((Woodbury, N.J./Woodbury)) was fourth (17'23/4). Rutecki was sixth. In the triple jump MaryKate Walsh claimed the silver medal with a final mark of 36'3, with Jen Swan (Waldwick, N.J./Waldwick) and Ashley Cuvilly (Uniondale, N.Y./Kellenburg Memorial) earning fourth and fifth place, respectively.
Freshman Symmone Fisher (Coram, N.Y./Longwood) won the hammer with a throw of 169'10, with Kelly Dantley (Imperial, Pa./West Allegheny) taking sixth and Samantha Heggman (Mineola, N.Y./Mineola) earning an eighth place finish. Fisher was also second in the shot put with her mark 39'73/4. Dantley was fifth and Jessica Toritto (Smithtown, N.Y./Smithtown) claimed eighth. Freshman Amanda Root (Greentown, Pa./Wallenpaupack) was the bronze medal competitor in the discus (123'3), with Toritto sixth, Dantley seventh and Monica Kloc (Matawan, N.J./Matawan) eighth. Biranne Edwards (Bloomfield, Conn./Suffield) won the 100m dash in 12.66, while Esteem Winder (Philadelphia, Pa./Carver) tied for fourth place (12.95) and Cuvilly came in eighth place.
Edwards was third in the 200m dash with a time of 26.70, with the senior placing just ahead of Sarah Simmons (East Kingston, N.H./Exeter) who finished in 26.90. Winder took home seventh in the event, crossing the finish in 27.50.
MU's Christian Keller (Matawan, N.J./Matawan) claimed gold in the shot put (51'71/4) and discus (163'2) at Lehigh. Keller also won the hammer throw with his distance of 179'4, edging out the second place competitor. Jeremy Gordet (Brick, N.J./Brick Memorial) was third in the shot with his throw of 44', while Zach Krupka (Ramsey, N.J./Don Bosco) placed eighth. At the Penn Relays, Victor Rizzotto's (Manahawkin, N.J./Southern Regional) throw of 192' 5” was ninth overall in the javelin. Matt Mizerek (Morris Plains, N.J./Parsippany Hills) was fifth in the javelin at Lehigh, throwing a distance of 163'.
MU had two athletes in the final of the men's pole vault, with Pete Matano (Wayne, N.J./Wayne Hills) clearing 14'31/4 for third place. Brandon Cabral (Farmingdale, N.J./Colts Neck) placed eighth after clearing 13'91/4. On the women's side, Michelle Telofski (Clifton, N.J./Clifton) and Christine Fatale (Haddonfield, N.J./Haddonfield Memorial) tied for third after vaulting 10' while senior Laura Myers (Clifton, N.J./Clifton) was sixth (9'6). Josh Lewis (Montville, N.J./Montville) was second in the long jump with a distance of 22'21/4. John Krajunas was fourth in the high jump, clearing 5'10.
Ben Hutterer (Saxonburg, Pa./Knoch) took first in the 1500m run, crossing the tape in 4:02.71. Senior Chris Tanzola (Long Valley, N.J./Mt. Olive) was ssecond in the 110 hurdles with a time of 15.74, while Krupka's time of 17.29 was eighth. Alec Richardson's (Mountaintop, Pa./Bishop Hoban) time of 11:25.13 in the 3000m Steeplechase was third place while senior Jeff Cody (Holmdel, N.J./Holmdel) was third (16.17.62) and Garth DeBlasio (Millstone, N.J./Allentown) was fifth in the 5000m run. Vin Improta (Staten Island, N.J./Staten Island Tech) was seventh seventh in the 800m, crossing the tape in 1:59.70. Greg Kammerer (Milltown, N.J./Spotswood) and Tanzola went six-seven in the 100m dash. Dan Fitzpatrick (Manasquan, N.J./Red Bank Catholic) was fourth in the 400m hurdles (57.10).
The Hawks host the 2009 Northeast Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships next Saturday and Sunday in West Long Branch.
