LANDOVER, MD. - The Monmouth University men's track and field team finished the Northeast Conference Indoor Championships in fourth place, Sunday afternoon at the Prince George Sports and Learning Complex. The Hawks were led by senior Vincent Elardo (Forked River, N.J./Lacey) who was named Field Athlete of the Meet for the second season in a row.
"The men gave away too many opportunities on both days," said head coach Joe Compagni. "We had some excellent efforts and some letdowns."
Central Connecticut State took the team title with 114 points, five points ahead of runner-up Sacred Heart. Long Island finished third with 108 points followed by the Hawks who tallied 102.5 points and Saint Francis (Pa.) who finished with 63 points. Mount St. Mary's and Robert Morris finished in sixth and seventh with 52.2 and 50 points, respectively. St. Francis (N.Y.) (23 points), Fairleigh Dickinson (17 points), Wagner (12 points) and Bryant (11 points) rounded out the field.
Elardo took first in his second event of the weekend, this time in the weight throw with a mark of 59' 5.75" followed by Tom Ciccoli (King of Prussia, Pa/Archbishop Carroll) who finished seventh with a throw of 50' 4.5".
A pair of freshman led the way for the Hawks in the high jump as Ed Kramer (Marlton, N.J./Cherokee) finished in fourth with a mark of 6' 5" while Tommy Butler (Union Bridge, Md./Francis Scott Key), who also cleared 6' 5", finished sixth overall. Senior Julio Rodriguez (Bound Brook, N.J./Bound Brook) and sophomore Jake Bartlett (Middletown, N.J./CBA) each jumped 6' 3.25" to claim a share of seventh place.
Geoff Navarro (Mays Landing, N.J./Absegami) finished second in both the 60 meter dash and the 200 meter dash, registering times of 6.93 and 22.23.
Senior Zachary Krupka (Allentown, Pa./Allentown) crossed the finish line in 50.77 in the 400 meter dash to finish sixth. Krupka also finished the 60 meter dash in 7.22 to claim eighth.
Rookie Jon Marques (Linden, N.J. (St. Joseph) took seventh in the 500 meter dash as he posted a time of 1:06.90.
The distance medley team of sophomore Patrick Egan (Whitman, Mass./Whitman-Hanson Regionals), Marques, sophomore Christopher DelFattore (Colonia, N.J./John F Kennedy Memorial) and junior Garth DeBlasio (Millstone, N.J./Allentown) finished sixth place with a time of 10:23.19.
The 4x400 meter relay team consisting of seniors Eric Fay (Yatesville, Pa./Pittston Area) and Jason Kelsey (Ramsey, N.J./Don Bosco Prep), Krupka and rookie Bayaan Oluyadi (Union, N.J./Union) crossed the finish line in fifth place with a time of 3:24.72.
Monmouth returns to action next weekend as it takes part of in the Princeton Invitational with events beginning at 11 a.m.
Freshman Jalen Walker (Burlington, N.J./BCIT/Burlington Township) registered a fourth place finish in the 60 meter hurdles with a time of 8.47 followed by junior Stevenson Cajuste (Egg Harbor, N.J./Egg Harbor) who ran a 8.56 for sixth place.
