NEW YORK - The Manhattan College men's track & field team secured its 17th consecutive Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Indoor Championship on Friday night at the New Balance Armory Track & Field Center. In what was supposed to be a close competition between the Jaspers and Rider, Manhattan ended up winning handily, collecting 159 points to the Broncs' 112. On the women's side, Manhattan captured third place behind Saint Peter's and Rider.
Tom Bechert (Munich, Germany) was named Most Outstanding Performer for Field Events after scoring points in five different individual events, as well as running a leg on the 4x400 meter relay. Bechert's best performance was a second-place showing in the pole vault (4.80 m, 15'9). He also placed fourth in the 60 meter hurdles (8.29), high jump (1.94 m, 6'4¼) and long jump (6.77 m, 22'2½), and took sixth in the shot put (14.32 m, 46'11¾). In the 4x400 relay, Bechert joined with Tyrek Barney (Hempstead, N.Y.), Joe Martello (Amawalk, N.Y.) and Sheldon Derenoncourt (Patchogue, N.Y.) to post a time of 3:20.91, which was good for third place.
In the pole vault, Brian McGovern (Yonkers, N.Y.) broke his own meet record to lead a 1-2-3-4-5 finish for the Jaspers. McGovern's winning leap was 5.10 m (16'8¾). Anastas Papazov (Balchik, Bulgaria) and Killian Barry (Dublin, Ireland) went 1-2 in the weight throw. Papazov captured first place with a toss of 18.14 m (59'6¼), while Barry's second-place effort was 17.32 m (56'10). Rokas Kirlys (Kamaji, Lithuania) took second in the shot put (15.49 m, 50'10).
Felix Siljeback-Larsen (Vasteras, Sweden), who also tied for fourth in the pole vault (4.50 m, 14'9) and took fifth in the 60 meter hurdles (8.37), finished second in the long jump. His leap of 7.28 m (23'10¾) was equal to that of Wellington Brown of Saint Peter's, but Brown was awarded first place because of a better second jump. The Jaspers grabbed 14 points in the triple jump, with Trevell Moxey (Lansdale, Pa.) placing second (14.33 m, 47'0¼) and Bobby Gebhard (Saddle River, N.J.) taking third (14.05 m, 46'1¼), while Mike Carroll (Nanuet, N.Y.) grabbed second place in the high jump (1.99 m, 6'6¼).
On the track, Manhattan's efforts were highlighted by Abdias Myrtil (Wheatley Heights, N.Y.) taking first place in the 60 meters (6.92) and second in the 200 meters (22.42). In one of the most exciting races of the night, Kevin D'Emic (Rockaway Point, N.Y.) surged from behind down the home straightaway to clinch a 2-3-4 finish for Manhattan in the 800 meters. Mikael Rojeras (Sala, Sweden) was second in 1:53.23, followed by D'Emic (1:54.31), who just edged teammate Greg Perrier (Dix Hills, N.Y.) (1:54.34). Rojeras also finished fourth in the mile (4:11.68), while D'Emic and Perrier joined with Martello and Josh Perez (Marlton, N.J.) to take second in the distance medley relay (10:20.76).
The championship was a historic one for Head Coach Dan Mecca, who earned his 60th MAAC title (men's and women's, indoor, outdoor and cross country) as the Jaspers' head coach. Mecca was named MAAC Men's Indoor Track & Field Coach of the Year.
Leading the way for the Manhattan women was Ashley Bowman (Elmont, N.Y.). Bowman shared Most Outstanding Performer for Track Events honors after setting championship records in the 60 meters and 200 meters. Bowman's winning time in the 60 was 7.64 seconds, while she ran the 200 in 24.45 seconds to break the record set last year by Cara Rostant (Valley Stream, N.Y.). Rostant finished third in the event (25.07) and defended her title in the 400 meters (56.46).
Ieva Vitola (Jekabplis, Latvia) took third in the 60 (7.90) and Emmy Koskinen (Sodertalje, Sweden) finished fourth in the 800 meters (2:15.14). Milena Stoicev (Nis, Serbia), meanwhile, contributed points in three events. She placed sixth in both the 800 (2:17.17) and the mile (5:01.04), and also ran the anchor leg on the distance medley relay. The team, which also included Koskinen, Elizabeth Rosenberger (Ramsey, N.J.) and Janie Turek (Mt. Sinai, N.Y.), posted a time of 12:24.55.
Andrea Nyback (Koping, Sweden) added to the team score in three different events, as well. Nyback took second place in both the long jump (5.74 m, 18'10) and high jump (1.65 m, 5'5) to go along with a fifth-place showing in the 60 meter hurdles (9.04). Doreen Horschig (Lumpzig, Germany) was fourth in the 60 hurdles (8.73), while also tying for fifth in the high jump (1.55 m, 5'1).
Melissa Yap (Orchard Park, N.Y.) earned a conference title in the pole vault with a clearance of 3.30 m (10'10). The Jaspers also took third and fifth in the event, as Sarah Moore (Irvington, N.Y.) cleared 3.15 m (10'4) and Breanna Brucher (Glen Spey, N.Y.) had a best effort of 2.85 m (9'4¼). Moore added eighth-place points in the triple jump (10.40 m, 34'1½). Throwers Lydia Wehrli (Anieres, Switzerland) and Alina Koenigs (Moenchengladbach, Germany) also contributed to Manhattan's point tally. Wehrli was third in the weight throw (16.63 m, 54'6¾), while Koenigs placed fourth in the shot put (12.09 m, 39'8).
Manhattan finished third overall on the women's side with 122.5 points. Saint Peter's captured its third straight MAAC indoor title with 185.5 points, while Rider earned 164.5 points to finish second.
The conference also unveiled the Men's and Women's All-Academic Teams on Friday. To be eligible for the squad, student-athletes must have a cumulative GPA of 3.20 or greater and have completed at least two semesters at their institution. The Jaspers had 14 women and 11 men honored. Recognized on the women's side were Horschig, Koskinen, Moore, Nyback, Turek, Vitola, Wehrli, Yap, Lauren Bednarz (Beachwood, N.J.), Alexandra Cappello (Scarsdale, N.Y.), Victoria Fitzgerald (Plymouth, Mass.), Nicole Mainente (Shirley, N.Y.), Katie O'Connell (Staten Island, N.Y.) and Alyssa Windle (Redlands, Calif.). On the men's side, Carroll, Kirlys, Rojeras, Siljeback-Larsen, Jaylen Henderson (Brooklyn, N.Y.), Yardley Keshinover (Wappingers Falls, N.Y.), Kevin O'Brien (Attleboro, Mass.), Savio Paul (Yonkers, N.Y.), Neil Pinnock (Yonkers, N.Y.), Joe Rossi (Malverne, N.Y.) and Tom Voorheis (Syracuse, N.Y.) were recognized for their work in the classroom.