The Etownian >> Sports
Teams finish third at MAC Championships
Thursday March 25 2010
Junior Allie Gold leaps over a hurdle. Gold placed fourth in the 55-meter hurdles at the MAC Indoor Championships.
The Virginia Tech Final Qualifier was the last opportunity for teams and individuals to qualify for Nationals. Sophomore Evan DeArmitt named Duke, Tennessee and Miami as some of the bigger schools that were there to compete.
“We took six athletes, and five of the six of us bettered our previous performances,” he stated. DeArmitt ran a 4:18.61 in the mile at this meet, setting a personal record.
The VA Tech meet took place March 6. Senior Wyatt Eaton finished fifth in the 200-meter with a time of 22.78 seconds, his best of the season. DeArmitt finished ninth in the mile, and first-year Aaron Focht took 16th with 4:32.90. Sophomore Eric Reichert made his way into the program’s all-time list in the 800-meter with a time of 1:56.58.
Sophomore Kathryn Howser set a personal record during the indoor 800-meter, and first-year Jenna Niedermayer set a personal record during the indoor 200-meter run.
Howser’s time for the 800-meter was 2:18.17, allowing her to finish third. Niedermayer’s time for the 200-meter was 27.78 seconds. Niedermayer also finished 12th in the long jump with a distance of 16 feet, 8 1/2 inches.
“Although none of us qualified for Nationals like we set out to do, five of the six competing athletes got personal records,” Howser said. “It was a great experience to compete against athletes from all three divisions.”
At the MAC Men’s Indoor Track & Field Championship at Lehigh University on Feb. 27, Etown placed third overall out of 11 teams. Widener University took first, and DeSales University came in second. Etown won four gold medals, three of those by relay teams. A new record was set by the 4x800-meter team of sophomore Mark Weber, Focht, DeArmitt and Reichert with a time of 8:01.12.
The distance medley relay team of Focht, senior Kyle Grimm, Weber and sophomore Russell Speiden came close to setting another record with a time of 10:28.41. The 4x400-meter team of first-year Brandon Walters, Grimm, sophomore Chris Niles and first-year Luke Rotenberger also took first with a time of 3:32.23. Eaton won, as well, with a time of 23.17 seconds in the 200-meter run.
“[First-year] Cameron Aregood, Wyatt Eaton and [senior] Tim Katzaman are a few names that come to mind of individuals who had solid performances. All of our relays did very well,” DeArmitt said.
Additionally, the women’s team earned several achievements at MACs this year. They finished third out of 11 teams. Messiah College took first and Misericordia University took second. Niedermayer won Rookie of the Year and set the school record for long jump. Howser was the winner of the 800-meter run with a time of 2:20.55. First-year Taryn Shank also won a gold medal in the 5,000-meter with 18:25.27. Niedermayer achieved second in the long jump with 17 feet, 7 inches, which broke her personal record. She was third in the triple jump with 35 feet, 9 1/4 inches. Niedermayer, Howser, first-year Pam Jaraczewski and first-year Ashley Lockwood took third in the 4x200-meter relay team with a time of 1:51.18. Howser and seniors Megan VanDenHengel, Sarah Merusi and Bernadette Frawley took second with a time of 10:06.13 in the 4x800-meter relay.
VanDenHengel took second in the mile with a time of 5:14.40.
“We went into MACs wanting to win, so getting third wasn’t exactly what we were hoping for, but we aren’t going to settle or get comfortable with it,” Howser said. “We are looking forward to outdoor to improve on our accomplishments from the indoor season.”
The Etownian >> Sports