ESU page at Penn Relays

EAST STROUDSBURG – Several of East Stroudsburg University's top track and field athletes will make their yearly trek to historic Franklin Field in Philadelphia this weekend as the Warriors participate in the 118th Annual Penn Relays, which begin Thursday.

A total of 19 ESU athletes will compete during the three-day festival, which will include five relays – the men's 4x200, 4x400 and 4x800 and women's 4x200 and 4x400 – and five individual participants.

Junior distance standouts Rose Mascoli and Corinne Fitzgerald, sophomore pole vaulter Laura Beimfohr and freshman high jumper Christina O'Connor will all compete individually on Thursday. Junior Matt Tholis is on deck in the men's javelin on Saturday.

In the relays, the men's 4x400 will look for its third straight victory in the Wetzler/Pennsylvania race on Friday at 5:25 p.m. The Warriors last won back-to-back titles in 1984-85 and will hope to lead a field of 10 schools – nine from Pennsylvania – including six Division I programs in Bucknell, La Salle, Lehigh, St. Joseph's, Temple and Wagner (N.Y.). PSAC schools Lock Haven, Millersville and West Chester will also be in the field.

A day-by-day breakdown of ESU's entrants is below:

THURSDAY

10:00 AM – Eastern High Jump – Christina O'Connor: had season-best 5-5 3/4 to win ESU All-American Meet last weekend … NCAA provisional qualifier during indoor season, clearing 5-6 at DeSchriver Invitational … placed 4th at PSAC Indoor Championships … sixth ESU women's high jumper to compete at Penn Relays in the last six seasons … six-time All-American Lynn Mayer won the Eastern high jump as a freshman and placed 2nd as a sophomore and junior … Mayer tied for 9th as a senior last year … Janelle Smith won in 2009 … Trina Carito (2010), Devyn Emerich (2009) and Leslie Martin (2007) also competed at Penn.

10:00 AM – College Pole Vault – Laura Beimfohr: broke her own school record with mark of 11-7 1/4 at All-American Meet last weekend … cleared 11-6 1/4 two weeks earlier at Muhlenberg … set indoor record at 11-9 3/4 this winter … has placed in top 4 in first three PSAC Championships.

5:45 PM – Women's College 4x400m Relay – sophomore Colleen Murphy, freshman Danielle Smith, freshman Imani Rosario and junior Lauren Ventrella: ESU's season best is 4:02.50 last weekend, with Murphy, Smith and Ventrella running on that relay … Smith holds ESU's school record in 100m outdoors (12.09) and 60m indoors (7.73) … she is the reigning PSAC Track Athlete of the Week and ranks #1 in PSAC in 100m and #2 in 200m … Ventrella broke her own 100m hurdles record (14.72) earlier this year and set 60m hurdles record indoors (8.94) as a freshman … she held the 60m dash record before it was broken by Smith … Murphy ran a 58.1-split on the 4x400 relay last year at Penn (3:53.78) … she ran a season-best 59.21 in the open 400 last week at ESU … Rosario ran on ESU's 3rd-place 4x400 relay at PSAC Indoor Championships … Murphy, Nicole Brown (injured), Rosario and Ventrella ran 3:56.95 … ESU outdoor record of 3:51.91 came in 2000.

8:00 PM – Championship 3000m Steeplechase – Corinne Fitzgerald: holds school record of 10:43.90 … ran in NCAA Outdoor Championships last spring … ran in NCAA Cross Country Championships this fall … ran 10:59.67 in college steeplechase at Penn last year … NCAA provisional qualifier this year with season-best of 10:58.15 on April 1 at Lafayette … ran ESU #6 time in 5K (17:36.74) at Bucknell on April 14 … #6 in 3K (10:06.58) and #8 in 10K (37:58.80) … indoors, ranks #3 in mile (5:07.42), #2 in 3K (9:59.72) and #3 in 5K (17:30.80).

8:40 PM – Championship 5000m – Rose Mascoli: holds school records in 3K (9:54.65), 5K (16:36.98) and 10K (33:54.74) … outdoor All-American in 5K, placing 5th, and 10K, placing 3rd, at last year's NCAA Championships … All-American in cross country as a sophomore in 2010 … placed 2nd in Championship 10K at Penn last year, running 34:39.13 to break her own school record by 1:05 (lowered record by another 45 seconds at NCAA Championships) … NCAA provisional qualifier in 10K this year at 35:52.52, currently 15th in DII … hasn't run 5K outdoors yet this season … ran 10:12.77 in 3K at Lafayette … NCAA provisional qualifier in 5K during indoor season (first season competing indoors, spent two years on swimming team).

FRIDAY

1:50 PM – Men's College 4x200m Relay – sophomore Keith Parker-Washington, freshman Kyle Rickard, freshman Brett Yeomans, senior Ian Melhorn: all four are PSAC qualifiers this year … Melhorn was the PSAC indoor champion in 200 in 21.96 … ran 2nd-fastest outdoor time in school history (21.53) as a junior … Parker-Washington has #9 time in 22.04 … Rickard and Yeomans have both broken 22.80 this season … last year's 4x200 relay ran 2nd-fastest time in school history at Penn (1:25.97) … Melhorn led off in 21.6 and Parker-Washington ran 21.3 split … school record of 1:25.37 came at Penn in 2010, with Melhorn running 21.4 on second leg.

2:10 PM – Women's College 4x200m Relay – Lauren Ventrella, Colleen Murphy, sophomore Rachel Pierantozzi, Danielle Smith: Murphy and Pierantozzi ran on last year's 4x200 relay at Penn that finished in 1:42.67, 3rd-fastest in school history … Murphy ran 26.4 on second leg and Pierantozzi ran 26.0 on third leg … Smith's 25.16 this year ranks #2 in PSAC … Pierantozzi and Murphy are also PSAC qualifiers.

5:25 PM – Men's 4x400m Wetzler/Pennsylvania Relay – Keith Parker-Washington, Ian Melhorn, sophomore Christopher Walker, freshman Damien Boham: ESU coasted to time of 3:17.68 to win by more than 3 seconds in last year's Wetzler/PA race … Warriors won in 3:15.39 in 2010 … Melhorn ran on both relays, anchoring in 49.2 in 2010 and running 48.8 on second leg last year … Parker-Washington led off in 49.4 … Parker-Washington and Walker ran first two legs of school-record 3:13.91 on last year's PSAC champion relay … Boham ran 47.5-second anchor leg on freshman record 3:18.52 on Saturday at All-American Meet … he has ESU's fastest open 400 time this year in 49.17.

SATURDAY

12:30 PM – College Javelin – Matt Tholis: has #9 mark in Division II of 209-4 at Lafayette on April 1 … threw 205-8 to win All-American Meet on Saturday … Division III national qualifier at Rowan in 2010 … ESU's Josh Hontz, who is taking an Olympic redshirt this spring, was 2nd in event at 210-10 last year at Penn on his way to DII runner-up status and a school record 225-4 … fifth Warrior to compete in javelin at Penn since 2006 – Hontz (2011), Kenny Cardullo (2008-09), Bill Buis (2009) and Dan Gale (2006).

4:40 PM – Men's 4x800m Championship of America – junior Mike Saparito, Damien Boham, sophomore Frank Fezza, senior Sam Janssen: all four are on ESU's all-time top 10 list in the 800 … Saparito holds school record of 1:52.96, Janssen ran #4 time of 1:53.92 last week, Fezza ran #5 time of 1:54.02 as a freshman in 2010 and Boham ran #10 time of 1:55.12 last week … Janssen edged Saparito (1:54.22) in a special invitational in the 800 at the All-American Meet … Saparito was the PSAC champion in 800 (school record 1:53.19) and anchored PSAC champion 4x800 relay (school record 7:45.11) at PSAC Indoor Championships in 2011 … Janssen and Saparito have both run at Penn the last two years … last season, Janssen split 1:55.19 and Saparito split 1:56.85 on anchor (7:46.66) … in 2010, Saparito led off in 1:55.2 and Janssen anchored in 1:57.5 (7:46.91) … school record of 7:44.04 was set in 1985.