Underclassmen Stand Out at ECAC Track & Field Championships
Once again the Behrend Lions had several track and field athletes achieve at the ECAC Track and Field Championships held at Williams College in Williamstown, MA. For a young program the blue and white made another impressive showing with underclassmen excelling for third-year head coach Dave Cooper against top-notch opponents.
Junior All-ECAC performer Isiah Meek (Wayne, NJ/Wayne) was sixth in the preliminaries of the 110 hurdles in 14.82, and finished third overall in the finals in 14.79. In the men's 4 x 100 relay Meek, sophomores Jason Kuntz (Fairview/Fairview) and Shane Rock (McKean/General McLane), and freshman Jordan Gray (Butler/Butler) placed fourteenth in 43.63. Kuntz also placed eighteenth in the 100 meter dash in 11.17 and Gray was tied for eighteenth in the long jump at 19'11.75. In the men's pole vault Donnie Hackworth (Monroeville/Gateway) was ninth after climbing 14'08.75. Additional All-ECAC honors were earned by Jon McKinney (Summerville/Union) finished eighth in the triple jump at 44'03.25, and Dan Mitchell was fifth in the javelin throw after hurling 187'09.
On the women's side junior Jessica Knapp (Erie/McDowell) earned a fourth place finish in the women's 5000 meter run in 17:50.14 and was tabbed All-ECAC, while freshman performer Leslie Gentile (Corry/Corry) placed eleventh in 19:18. Jessica Sarver, a junior from Freeport High School, placed twelfth in the women's 1500 meter run in 4:50.27. Sophomore Staci Banaszek (Erie/Harborcreek) competed in multiple events and tied for ninth place in the high jump at 5'2.25 and was twenty-first in the triple jump at 33'08.50. She earned all-ECAC honors for the second straight season.
The men's team tied for twenty-fifth out of 70 teams and the women finished tied for thirty-seventh of more than 60 teams.
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