LONCAR EXTENDS JASPERS' STREAK OF IC4A CHAMPIONS WITH DRAMATIC PERFORMANCE IN WEIGHT; CRUZ QUALIFIES FOR HURDLES SEMIS
Boston, Mass. (March 3, 2007)?This year's IC4A Indoor Championships have a somewhat different feel for Manhattan Track and Field. Although the injury bug has denied the perennial contender a chance at the 2007 team title, senior Zoran Loncar made sure this year wouldn't be too different for the Kelly Green and White.
By setting a new personal record in the weight throw on Saturday afternoon at the Boston University Armory, Loncar made sure Manhattan walked away from the meet with at least one IC4A champion to extend a streak that spans head coach Dan Mecca's entire 21-year Jasper tenure.
Through the first day of competition, Manhattan, who has 13 points thus far, sits in second place out of 24 teams that have scored at the competition. Bucknell University is currently in the driver's seat with 25 points.
“Had we been completely healthy, we would have been up here competing for a team title,” said Mecca. “We are still hoping for some great individual performances like the one Loncar gave us today.”
Eight of Bucknell's 25 points came from Loncar's stiffest competition, weight throw runner-up Tyler Hoffman. Holding a top mark of 20.08m after his final attempt, Hoffman sat ahead of Loncar and was poised to take home the title. Needing a big throw to keep the weight throw crown in Manhattan hands, Loncar produced the biggest of his career at 20.13m to win the title and surpass the provisional qualifying standard for next weekend's NCAA Championships by 63 centimeters.
Senior Joe Cruz also had his best day of the season, earning a trip to Sunday's 55m hurdles semifinals. Clocking in at 7.65s, Cruz finished atop the event's first heat. Cruz, as well as the rest of the qualifying field, will have the tall task of defeating Pittsburgh University's Mike Wray in order to win the title. Wray's preliminary mark of 7.27s was more than two-tenths of a second better than any that of any other competitor.
“Cruz was another guy who stepped up and had a career day to earn a place in the semis,” noted Mecca. “Darnell [Douglas] ran his best time of the season today, and on the women's side the Radermacher sisters did the same.”
Douglas crossed the finish line in 48.57s to take 17th overall out of 40 entries in Saturday's preliminaries. Douglas' performance comes only two weeks after the senior sprinter broke a 17-year-old meet record en route to winning the 400m title at the MAAC Indoor Championships.
Megan Radermacher, who was this year's MAAC Champion in the 800m, logged her best time of the season at 2:12.33. Twin sister Shannon Radermacher, who won the 400m at the MAAC Indoor Championships, joined her sister Megan in Saturday's 800m race, clocking in at 2:12.71.
Manhattan has yet to score any team points on the women's side, but that could change on Sunday when the 2006 ECAC Outdoor triple jump champion Tiina Magi tries for an indoor title. On the men's side, a trio of juniors will be in action. Milan Jotanovic, 2006 NCAA Indoor All-American and IC4A Champion, will defend his title in the shot put and will be joined in the event by teammate Rich Reuter. While Jotanovic and Reuter are throwing in the cage, Chris Sole will be on the infield in an attempt to earn All-East honors in the high jump for the second consecutive year.
