NEW YORK, N.Y. - The Monmouth University men's and women's track and field finished fourth and fifth out of 36 schools at the Albany Great Dane Classic, Friday afternoon at the Armory Track and Field Center.  A pair of field athletes led both squads as senior Vincent Elardo (Forked River, N.J./Lacey) posted two first place finishes in the shot put and weight throw, while freshman Rachel Aliotta (Cheshire, Conn. /Cheshire) climbed the ranks in the MU record books with her ECAC qualifying shot put mark.

"This was a competitive meet with many of the best teams in the East lining up," said head coach Joe Compagni. "In a lot of areas we responded to that well and stepped up with some great results."

Monmouth's men and women both recorded their best finish at this meet in several years, with the women earning four new EAC Division I qualifying marks.

Connecticut won the men's event with 119.5 points followed by host school Albany with 84.  Villanova followed with 63 points in third place while the Hawks registered 51.5 points, good four forth, while Northeast Conference opponent Central Connecticut State rounded out the top five with 41 points.

Elardo set the new meet record in the shot put with his toss of 60' 1", which qualifies the senior for the U.S. Championships in Albuquerque, New Mexico later in February.  The mark also moves him up to eight in the nation among Division I throwers vying for a spot at the NCAA Championships at Texas A&M in March.  Elardo also registered a first place finish in the weight throw, registering a throw of 60' 8.5", making him the first Hawk to throw over 60' in both events.

Senior Thomas Ciccoli (King of Prussia, Pa/Archbishop Carroll) finished fifth overall in the shot put recording a throw of 53' 7.75" while sophomore Shane Carle finished sixth with a toss of 52' 10".

Joshua Lewis (Montville, N.J./Montville Township) jumped 22' 11.25" as the junior finished second overall in the long jump.

Geoff Navarro (Mays Landing, N.J./Absegami) raced to times of 6.98 in the 60 meter dash and 22.18 in the 200, both qualifying marks for the IC4A Championships, finishing fifth overall in both events.

Freshman Tommy Butler (Union Bridge, Md./Francis Scott Key) cleared 6' 7"to claim a share of sixth place in the high jump.

The distance medley team of sophomore Pat Egan (Whitman, Mass./Whitman-Hanson Regionals), freshman Joe DiBianca (Mays Landing, N.J./Oakcrest), sophomore Dave Berger (Cherry Hill, NJ/Cherry Hill East) and junior Garth DeBlasio (Millstone, N.J./Allentown), crossed the finish line sixth, posting a time of 10:23.70.

Senior distance runner Ben Hutterer (Saxonburg, Pa./Knoch) completed the 3000 meter run in 8:34.9, good for seventh overall, while teammate Dan Collura  (Jackson, N.J. /Jackson Memorial) finished 12th as the junior finished in 8:48.83.

Senior Zachary Krupka (Allentown, Pa./Allentown) led the 4x400 meter relay team with newcomers Jon Marques (Linden, N.J./St. Joseph) and Bayaan Oluyadi (Union, N.J./Union) and senior Jason Kelsey (Ramsey, N.J. /Don Bosco Prep) to a 10th place result with a time of 3:22.16.

Host team Albany took the women's crown with 103 points followed by Pittsburgh with 92 points.  Ivy League member Penn recorded 74.5 points, good for third, while Maryland-Eastern Shore finished fourth with 57 points.  Monmouth and NEC foe Long Island finished with a share of fifth place in the 36-team field, both totaling 47.5 points.

Aliotta recorded a throw of 45' 9" which sets the new Monmouth record, erasing Lacy Johnson's 1999 mark of 44' 11.5". Her throw also qualifies the rookie for the ECAC championships in March and the U.S. Junior National Championships in Oregon in June. 

Sophomore Sandra Jean-Romain (Old Bridge, N.J./Old Bridge) finished fifth overall with a mark of 44' 3.25" while junior Symmone Fisher (Coram, N.Y./Longwood)  registered a throw of 41' 4.5", good for 12th place. 

Sophomore Alison Day (West Chester, Pa./Bayard Rustin) and junior Lindsey Walsh (Mount Laurel, N.J./Lenape) both qualified for the ECAC Championships in the high jump with a 5' 7" mark. Day finished second overall, Walsh took fourth, and sophomore Rachel Watkins (Oakland, N.J./Indian Hills) tied for sixth place with a jump of 5' 5".

Graduate student Christina Nelson (Little Silver, N.J./Red Bank [Maryland]) recorded a time of 2:55.31 in the 1000 meter run, good for second overall and qualified for ECAC Championships. Sophomore Amanda Eller (Delmont, N.J./Millville) crossed the finish line seventh with a time of 3:03.32.

Fisher recorded a fifth place finish in the weight throw, with a mark of 54' 10.25", an ECAC qualifying mark.  Newcomer Tilah Young (Barnegat, N.J./Barnegat) recorded a 12th place with a throw of 46' .75".

Walsh hit 17' 4.75" in the long jump, while classmate Colleen Rutecki (Springfield, Pa./Springfield) registered a mark of 16' 5".  Walsh also ran her best time of the year in the 60 hurdles, advancing to the finals, while Rutecki recorded a time of 1:17 in the 500.

Senior Christine Altland (Hazlet, N.J./Raritan), freshman Megan Patrick (Jamison, Pa./Villa Joseph Marie), sophomore Stacey Lepes (Branchville, N.J./High Point Regional), and freshman Lucia Montefusco (Levittown, N.Y./MacArthur) finished third in the distance medley with a time of 12:33.06.

Junior Ajda Dotday (Hawthorne, N.J./Hawthorne), Watkins, freshmen Mercedes Yanora (Wilkes-Barre, Pa./Holy Redeemer Wilkes-Barre), and Laura Williams (North Brunswick, N.J./North Brunswick Township) recorded a eight place finish in the 4x400 meter relay with a time of 3:57.35.

Williams finished eighth in the 400 meter dash with a time of 58.13 while Watkins finished in 58.78, good for 13th overall.

Yanora sped to her best time of the year in the 200, crossing the finish line in 25.91 while Dotday completed the race in 26.35.

Kelsey Maher (Jackson, N.J./Jackson Memorial) crossed the finish line in 10:48.71, placing the sophomore 10th overall in the 3000 meter run.  Senior Erin Szulewski (Williamstown, N.J./Williamstown) finished 12th, with a time of 10:54.62.

Monmouth returns to action this afternoon when it travels to Princeton, N.J. for the Princeton Relays, beginning at 4 p.m.