Top 10 Stories of 2016-17 - #7 Men's Track & Field Sweeps Landmark Conference Titles
BETHLEHEM, Pa. --- Moravian College is continuing its look back at the 2016-17 year with the second of two Top 10 lists, the Top 10 Stories of the Year. No. 7 on the list is the men’s track & field team sweeping the Landmark Conference Indoor and Outdoor Championships.
BETHLEHEM, Pa. --- Moravian College is continuing its look back at the 2016-17 year with the second of two Top 10 lists, the Top 10 Stories of the Year. No. 7 on the list is the men's track & field team sweeping the Landmark Conference Indoor and Outdoor Championships.
The Greyhounds, under the direction of sixth-year Head Coach Jesse Baumann, swept the conference titles for the eighth time in the 10-year history of the Landmark Conference. Moravian won the indoor title by 37 points over host Susquehanna University in February for the program's ninth Landmark indoor championship and 12th overall in school history. The Hounds then won their ninth Landmark outdoor title and 12th in program history with a 91-point victory over Elizabethtown College as the Blue and Grey hosted the two-day meet in May at Rocco Calvo Field and Timothy Breidegam Track.
"We were fortunate to have a very well-rounded team this year, we really didn't have many weak event areas so we were able to acquire points across all the events," stated Baumann. "On top of that, we had some very strong top-end athletes in the sprints, javelin, and jumps so we were able to accumulate a lot of points quickly there as well to add to our advantage. We'll be losing a lot of important seniors like Kahron Walker, Austin Gardener, Mike Guarino, and Greg Cahill, who made huge contributions to our team not only this season but also all four years here. They were a big part of the reason we were able to win both titles this spring, and it'll be a real challenge replacing their leadership and talent moving forward."
Baumann and his staff of assistant coaches – Jonathan D'Ottavio (throws), Bill Ferguson (jumps), Steve Rahn (sprints/hurdles), Michael El Kazzaz (pole vault), Ryan Sickler (hurdles/jumps) and Chelsea Bortz (jumps) earned Men's Coaching Staff of the Year honors at the indoor meet.
The Greyhounds had 12 student-athletes earn 15 All-Conference honors in Selinsgrove on February 28. Leading the Hounds with individual Landmark All-Conference First Team honors was freshman Billy DiLolle, who won the 60-meter dash and joined with seniors Austin Gardener and Jamil Poole and sophomore Chris Antoine to win the 4x200-meter relay. Sophomore John Spirk defended his title in the 60-meter hurdles while senior Kyle Hagerty captured the long jump, senior Greg Cahill won the shot put and sophomore Scott Goodwin took first in the pole vault.
Earning Landmark All-Conference Second Team accolades with runner-up finishes were Cahill in the 35-pound weight throw, freshman Roland Cash in the triple jump, and Spirk, senior Cory Taggert and juniors Mike Kopach and Andrew Mitchell in the 4x400-meter relay.
The Hounds had 14 student-athletes earn 20 All-Conference honors in the outdoor championships on May 6-7 in Bethlehem. Leading Moravian with individual Landmark All-Conference First Team honors was Spirk, who was named the Co-Track Athlete of the Year after winning both the 110-meter high hurdles and the 400-meter hurdles for the second consecutive spring.
The Hounds had two other multiple First Team honorees with Taggert winning the 400-meter dash and part of the first place 4x100-meter relay with junior Eric Morton, who also won the 100-meter dash. DiLolle and Gardener were the other members of the first place 4x100 relay while freshman Greg Jaindl won the 3,000-meter steeplechase.
The men's team also had six First Team selections from the field events with Cahill winning the discus, Cash taking the triple jump title, Goodwin winning the pole vault, junior Robert Condo capturing the javelin, freshman Ryan Harper taking the shot put title and senior Kahron Walker capturing the high jump for the fourth straight championship meet.
Moravian had five student-athletes earn Second Team honors with runner-up finishes including Cahill in the shot put, DiLolle in the 100-meter dash and Walker in the long jump, senior Michael Guarino in the javelin and sophomore Devon Harris in the 800-meter run.
Condo and Guarino would go on to compete in the javelin at the 2017 NCAA Division III National Championships hosted by the University of Mount Union outside of Cleveland in late May.
The number six story in the Top 10 Stories of 2016-17 will be released on Friday, August 4.
