New York, N.Y. (February 24, 2006)-After capturing their tenth consecutive MAAC Indoor Track and Field Championship on both the men's and women's side last week at the 168th Street Armory, several Manhattan athletes were back at the same venue this evening. The Jaspers, however, weren't there to look back on last week's tremendous feat, but to look ahead as they prepare for the IC4A/ECAC Championships, which commence next weekend in Boston, Mass. The meet, hosted by New York University, was a last chance to qualify for the championships, and several Manhattan seniors competed as if it was their last chance to don the Kelly Green and White, having a career night.
Senior thrower
Anders Constantin, who qualified for the IC4A Championships on the first day of the indoor season, led a Manhattan 1-2-3 sweep in the weight throw. With a new PR in the weight throw, Constantin upped his NCAA Provisional Qualifying mark to 19.63m (64'5"). Junior
Paul Peulich and senior
Zoran Loncar finished second and third respectively, with throws of 18.87m and 18.61m. Loncar, who is the defending IC4A Outdoor Champion in the hammer throw, recorded his best mark of the season at the Armory.
Senior Marissa Olivieri was another senior who turned in a personal best on the night, as she completed the 1000m run in 2:57.79, missing the ECAC qualifying mark by less than four-tenths of a second. Last week at the MAAC Championships, Olivieri set a PR in 800m by running a 2:16.17 to finish a close second. Fellow senior distance Caryn Capalbo, who scored at the MAAC Championships, also recorded a solid performance. Capalbo finished fourth in the 5000m run with a time of 18:24.23.
Also on the distance end, two Jasper sophomore set PR's.
Joe McElhoney set an indoor personal best in the 5000m by recording a 15:54.73, while
Anthony Vernaci finished the 3000m in 8:31.98.
Fellow sophomore Lauren Cervino also ran her best time of the indoor campaign, as she completed the 400m dash in 60.34s.
Manhattan also had a strong showing in the jumping events. On the men's side, IC4A bound high jumper
Chris Sole cleared 2.06m (6'9") to win the meet title, while newcomer Nikolay Tkachenko, who will be joining Sole in Boston, recorded a season best mark of 4.50m in the pole vault. Two ECAC qualifiers, sophomore high jumper Caitlyn Kjolhede and senior pole vaulter Jenna Daly, finished second in their respective events. Kjolhede jumped 1.65m in the high jump, while Daly cleared 3.45m in the pole vault.
Senior thrower
Michael Freeman was also throwing the weight on Friday, but he was a couple hundred miles north in Boston, Mass. at the USATF Championships. Freeman notched his best distance of the season and upped his NCAA "B" mark to 20.17m. Freeman's older brother and former NCAA National Champion at MC, Jake, took third place with a new PR of 23.48m (77'1").
Manhattan tries to add to its 69 IC4A Indoor individual championships and three ECAC Indoor individual titles, when the championships begin on March 3.
