WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. - Five athletes produced IC4A qualifying distances/times in leading the Monmouth University men's and women's track & field squads to team victories in the inaugural dual meet with Rider University at the MAC. On Thursday afternoon, junior throwers Vincent Elardo (Forked River, N.J./Lacey) and Tom Ciccoli (King of Prussia, Pa./Archbishop Carroll), sophomore sprinter Geoff Navarro (Mays Landing, N.J./Absegami), and junior jumpers Jason Kelsey (Ramsey, N.J./Don Bosco Prep) and Kollan Reevey (Pemberton, N.J./Pemberton) all met IC4A standards in their respective events to lead the Hawks. The Hawks' women's team won their match, 303-132, while the men's team scored a 291-158 victory over the Broncs.

Opening up the afternoon for the Blue and White with top finishes were Elardo and Ciccoli as the upperclassmen finished first and second and both qualified for the IC4As in shot put with marks of 54' 4" and 51' 6.5". Senior Shawn Sabo (Oakland, N.J./Indian Hills) earned a third place finish with a throw of 50' 9.25". On the women's side, newcomer Sandra Jean-Romain (Old Bridge, N.J./Old
Bridge) finished just inches short of a MU top-five finish with her medalist winning throw of 43' 8.50" while senior Kelly Dantley (Imperial, Pa./West Allegheny) turned in a third place finish with a throw of 38' 11.75".

Elardo and Ciccoli finished second (53' 9.25") and third (53' 3.5") in the weight throw to earn solid points for MU.
 
In men's pole vault, sophomores Jason Timmons (Latrobe, Pa./Greater Latrobe) and Peter Matano (Wayne, N.J./Wayne Hills) finished one two as both cleared the 13' 11.25" height.

Junior Julio Rodriguez (Bound Brook, N.J./Bound Brook) finished second in the men's high jump clearing the 6' 2.25" standard. Freshman sensation Alison Day (West Chester, Pa./Bayard Rustin) picked up her third consecutive win clearing a height of 5' 4.5".

Monmouth took the top five spots in the women's long jump with senior Mary Kate Walsh (Woodbury, N.J./Woodbury) leading the way with a leap of 17' 9". The dual of senior Chris Taiwo (Budd Lake, N.J./Mt. Olive) and rookie Josh Mann (Warwick, N.J./Warwick Valley) finished first and second in triple jump with jumps of 45' 10.5" and 45' 2.5". Senior Brittany Gibbs (Matawan, N.J./Old Bridge) earned the win in triple with a leap of 38' .25". Both Reevey and Kelsey posted IC4A qualifying leaps to finish first (23' 6") and second (23' 2.75") in long jump.

Navarro opened up scoring for MU in track events as his medalist finish in the 60 meter dash (6.95) qualified him for the IC4A Championships. Reigning NEC Women's Track Athlete of the Week, Michelle Losey (Piscataway, N.J./Piscataway), fell one hundredth of a second shy of her own school record in the 60 with her finish of 7.71, giving her the second best finish in school history. Sophomore Ajda Dotday (Hawthorne, N.J./Hawthorne) and freshman Lachelle Wallace (Herndon, Va./South Lakes) both posted duplicate times of  8.02 to finish second and third in the same event. Losey and Dotday also finished first (25.54) and and second (26.10) in the 200 meter dash.

The 60 meter hurdle crews posted dual medalist wins on the men's and women's sides as sophomore Chris Rutherford (Toms River, N.J./Toms River East) and junior Mary Wilks (Bridgeton, N.J./Bridgeton) won their respective events with times of 8.32 and 9.67

Other notable finishes in the middle distance runs include medalist wins from junior Eric Fay (Yatesville, Pa./Pittston Area) in the 500 meter dash (1:07.89), Kelsey in the 400 meter dash (51.52), Gibbs in the 400 meter dash (1:01.47) and senior Crystal Stein  (Stewartstown,Pa./Susquehannock) in the 500 meter dash (1:19.00). The freshman duo of Ford Palmer (Smithville, N.J./Absegami) and Emily MacEwen (South Glastonbury, Conn./Glastonbury) earned individual wins in the 800 with times of 1:57.14 and 2:22.37.

Senior Laura Embrey (West Long Branch, N.J./Shore Regional) led the women's distance crew in the mile run with a second place finish time of 5:21.20 while the men's team was led by freshman David Berger (Cherry Hill, N.J./Cherry Hill East) with a silver medal finish in 4:25.49. Senior Cailin Lynam (Sparta, N.J./Sparta) finished first in the 3000 meter run (10:28.83).

Ending out a solid showing from the whole Hawks squad were dual wins by the men's and women's 4x400 meter relay teams. The men's team won with a time of 3:29.28 and the women's team posted a 4:10.23 finish.

The Blue and White return to the track tomorrow afternoon when they travel to New York City for the NYU Gotham Cup with action  starting at 12:30 p.m.