Greyhounds Look to Defend Landmark Conference Indoor Titles on Saturday
TOWSON, Md. --- Seven institutions will convene at the Susquehanna Field House to compete in the Landmark Indoor Track & Field Championships this Saturday.
TOWSON, Md. --- Seven institutions will convene at the Susquehanna Field House to compete in the Landmark Indoor Track & Field Championships this Saturday.
Moravian has won seven of eight men's titles, and the Greyhounds are a perfect 8-for-8 on the women's side, making them the clear favorites for this weekend's meet.
There will still be plenty of competition this weekend, particularly on the men's side. Although Moravian has posted the top times/distances in six of the 17 events to be this season, Elizabethtown is right behind with five top entries and Susquehanna has three.
The Blue Jays have continued their dominance from the fall in the distance events with eight runners in the top-five in the mile, 3000m and 5000m. Landmark Cross Country Performer of the Year Zach Trama holds the top times in the mile (4:24.10) and the 5000m with a time of 15:09.58, which is on pace to break the championship meet record of 15:11.34 set by Alex Price from Susquehanna in 2015. He is also third in the 3000m with a time of 9:07.14. Teammate Adam Harriger is second in the mile (4:26.43) and fifth in the 3000m with a time of 9:10.80, while Sam Cooper holds the fastest time in the event with a 8:55.06.
Susquehanna has the No. 1 and No. 2 contenders in the 60m dash in senior Kwane Hayle and Armond Owens. Hayle is a two-time champion in the 60 and 200m dash. Hayle has knocked off seconds from his time in the 60m since last season, clocking in at 6.92 for his best time of the season, and will enter Saturday as the top seed in the event. Hayle will have to be on the lookout for Etown's Mirch Schlegel in the 200m on Saturday. Schlegel currently has the fastest time in the event with a time of 22.97.
Etown's Michael Twist is currently atop the top-times list in the 400m with a time of 51.15. U.S. Merchant Marine Academy's Tomas Sanchez, the Landmark champion a year ago, is not far behind with a time of 51.60. Twist has the second best time in the 800m with a time of 1:56.73, two seconds behind leader and conference champion junior Cory Taggert from Moravian with a time of 1:54.73.
USMMA will have opportunities to earn points in the 60m hurdles, 4x200, 4x400 relays, and a number of field events. After a fourth-place finish a year ago, Kenneth Pressey currently has the best mark in the high jump (2.03m) in the Landmark this season. He will be competing against champion junior Kahron Walker from Moravian for the title this season. Pressey is third in the rankings in the triple jump with a mark of 12.77m.
The Greyhounds swept the field events a year ago, and are expected to be strong contenders for the crown again this season. Walker is back this season to defend his title as is senior Ryan Karnopp (pole vault), senior Gavin Bailey (long jump), graduate student Parker Munson (shot put), and junior Greg Cahill (weight throw). Cahill set a new Landmark record this season in the weight throw with a mark of 16.24 on January 30 at the Lehigh Covert Classic. Susquehanna's Tom Schetroma will be competition in the field events this Saturday. The senior set a new conference record in the shot put with a mark of 15.76m.
Moravian's women enter the championships with the top seed time in 11 of 17 events. Three of those top-times are from sophomore Melissa Cheong in the 60m Hurdles, high jump, and long jump. The sophomore set a new conference record in the high jump with a mark of 1.68m at the Lehigh University Covert Classic. The Greyhounds' senior Corinne Glass enters the weekend with the top seed in the 200m and 400m dash, while teammate junior Meg Brockett leads the field in the 3000m and 5000m races. Like Cheong, Brockett set a new conference record in the 3000m at the Princeton Invitational College division with a time of 10:12.20. The Greyhounds have the top distance marks in all six events.
Susquehanna's Ashley West is a strong contender to win the 800m and mile races this weekend. The senior is a three-time Landmark Track Athlete of the Year, and has set two new conference records this season. West broke the conference record in the 800m with a time of 2:13.47 at the Crusader Classic in early February, four seconds ahead of the second-place. She then broke the record in the mile last weekend at the Penn State Tune-up with a time of 4:57.08. West was the first female in SU and Landmark history to run a sub-five minute mile in competition.
Elizabethtown, the 2015 Cross County champions, have several contenders for points in the distance races, including Performer of the Year Lydia Dearie and fellow teammates Brenna McNamee, Brianna Earnshaw, Casey Quinto, and Cross Country Rookie of the Year Colleen Kernan. All five rank in the top-five in the distance events.
Catholic will have a contender in the weight throw and shot put, as freshman Andrea Galeano is in the top-five in both events.
Saturday's meet is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m., with the last race tentatively set to take off at 5:15 in the afternoon. Admission is $5 for adults and $3 for non-Landmark students and seniors (62+). Landmark students, faculty and staff will receive free admission along with children 10 and under.
Release courtesy of Landmark Conference Office
