Schaffer, Layng & Zack to Compete at Penn Relays
BETHLEHEM, PA --- Seniors Abigail Schaffer, Timothy Layng and Gary Zack of the Moravian College women’s and men’s outdoor track & field teams will be competing at the Penn Relays hosted by The University of Pennsylvania at historic Franklin Field Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
BETHLEHEM, PA --- Seniors Abby Schaffer (Easton, Pa./Easton HS), Timothy Layng (Canton, Pa./Canton HS) and Gary Zack (Crestwood, Pa./Mountain Top HS) of the Moravian College women's and men's outdoor track & field teams will be competing at the Penn Relays hosted by The University of Pennsylvania at historic Franklin Field Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
Schaffer is the schedule to compete in the College Women's Pole Vault Championship on Thursday, April 26 beginning at 3:00 p.m. Schaffer, the defending NCAA Division III national champion in the event, set the NCAA Division III all-time record this past Saturday at Moravian's Greyhound Invitational when she cleared a personal record of 4.22 meters (13 feet, ten inches). The vault is currently 14th in the national among all female NCAA pole vaulters at Division I, Division II and Division III.
Schaffer is competing against fellow NCAA Division III pole vaulter Michelle Farve of Ramapo College of New Jersey and ten NCAA Division I student-athlete. Schaffer currently has the fifth best vault among those competing at the Penn Relays.
Layng will compete on Friday, April 27 at 10:00 a.m. in the College Men's Pole Vault College Flight. Layng set a Moravian record at 5.00 meters (16 feet, 4 ¾ inches) at the Coach P Open on April 14, which ranks him fourth in the nation at the NCAA Division III level. At the Penn Relays, Layng is the only non-NCAA Division I student-athlete among the 20 competitors in his event.
Zack is scheduled to compete in the College Men's Javelin Throw Championship on Saturday, April 28 at 11:00 a.m. Zack, the defending NCAA Division III national champion in the event, enters the Penn Relays with the top throw in Division III this season at 69.05 meters (226 feet, six inches). The mark is a Moravian school record and the eighth best throw in NCAA Division III history since the new javelin was introduced in 1986. Zack set the record at the Coach P Open on April 14, and he is just three meters shy of reaching the Olympic Trials.
Zack is competing against fellow NCAA Division III competitor Tim van Liew from Rutgers-Camden, who trails Zack's top throw by 19 inches, and nine NCAA Division I student-athletes. Zack's distance is 28th in the nation among all NCAA competitors in the javelin and fifth of 11 competitors at the Penn Relays.
Moravian will also be hosting the 2012 Landmark Conference Championships on Saturday and Sunday, April 28 and 29 at Timothy Breidegam Track and Rocco Calvo Field.
