Complete Results / Saturday recap

ESU season best / school records / men's T&F history / women's T&F history

EDINBORO – Senior Negus Graham won the 200 and 400 and ran the third leg on the winning 4x400 relay to lead East Stroudsburg University's men's team to a third-place finish at the 2011 PSAC Indoor Track & Field Championships, which concluded on Sunday at Edinboro.

Graham was named the PSAC Men's Overall Athlete of the Meet and repeated his Men's Track Athlete of the Meet performance from last year's outdoor championships, where he won the 400 for his first career title.

He ran times of 21.83 in the 200 and 47.95 in the 400 and ran a 48.0-second split on the 4x400 relay that won by almost two seconds with an NCAA Division II provisional time of 3:17.99. He is the first men's sprinter to win PSAC indoor titles in the 200 and 400 since California's Brad Rager in 2005.

ESU has had four different athletes earn the men's Overall Athlete award at the last four PSAC Championships – Graham (2011 indoor), thrower Paul Wagner (2010 outdoor), sprinter Chris Reddick (2010 indoor) and sprinter Andrew McCloskey (2009 outdoor).

Sophomore Mike Saparito also stood out for the Warriors over the two-day championship, winning the 800 with a school record and NCAA provisional qualifying time of 1:53.19 a day after anchoring the 4x800 relay to a PSAC record (7:45.11) with a closing leg of 1:50.5. Saparito is ESU's first men's champion in the 800 since Joe Ahouse won the 880-yard event in 1970 and set the previous record in 1:54.52 earlier this year.

ESU placed third with 102.5 points, its fifth straight season with a top-three finish at the indoor championships. Shippensburg won its second indoor title in three years with 145.5 points, Lock Haven was second (125) and Slippery Rock was fourth (99). Lock Haven edged ESU by a half-point for last year's title.

Senior Lynn Mayer won her third straight PSAC championship in the high jump to lead the ESU women, who were fifth with 64 points. Shippensburg dominated the field to win its second straight indoor title with 158 points, followed by Slippery Rock (108.5), IUP (74), Kutztown (68) and ESU. The Warriors have finished in the top six at all nine PSAC Championships since 2007.

Mayer cleared 5-7 3/4 to win a jump-off against Slippery Rock senior Whitney Hendershot and successfully defend her PSAC indoor and outdoor titles from last season. A four-time All-American, Mayer is ESU's only automatic qualifier for the NCAA Division II Indoor Championships. Eight Warriors and both the men's and women's 4x400m relays have provisional qualifying marks; the complete field will be announced on Wednesday.

Junior Dan Johnson broke his own school record and finished third in the heptathlon with 4,797 points, meeting the NCAA provisional qualifying standard. ESU athletes set five school records over the weekend – Johnson in the heptathlon, Saparito in the 800, the men's 4x800m relay, senior Asher Ashfield in the 60m dash and freshman Laura Beimfohr in the pole vault.

ESU won the men's 4x400m relay for the second straight year after returning three-quarters of last year's indoor and outdoor PSAC championship squads. Freshman Keith Parker-Washington, the lone newcomer, led off in 50.7, followed by senior Greg Pammer (49.8), Graham (48.0) and junior Ian Melhorn (49.2).

The Warriors scored 45 points in the men's sprints (60, 200, 400, 4x400 relay) led by Graham's MVP efforts in winning the 200 and 400. Ashfield was fourth in the 60m dash (7.04) a day after running 7.01 to set the school record in the prelims, Melhorn was fourth (22.21) and Ashfield was eighth (22.73) in the 200 and Pammer was fifth in the 400 (50.03).

Other scorers for the Warriors' men on Sunday were sophomore Corey Young in the 60m hurdles (4th, 8.34), sophomore Amr Aldeen in the mile (5th, 4:15.88) and sophomore Kyle Soden (3rd, 6-5) and Johnson (t-5th, 6-3 1/4) in the high jump. Freshman James Homola was fourth in the pole vault and freshman Corey Kresge was fifth in the long jump on Saturday.

Sophomore Corinne Fitzgerald ran the second-fastest time in school history in the 3000m, turning in a sub-10 minute time in 9:59.72 to finish sixth in the field. Fitzgerald ran on the third-place Distance Medley Relay and fifth-place 4x800 relay on Saturday.

Sophomore Bridget McCarron and freshman Kim Wernerspach just missed scoring as they were 10th in the 800 and mile, respectively. Wernerspach ran on both relays and McCarron was on the 4x800 relay yesterday.

Senior Jasmine Johnson was second in the 400 in 57.53 while running in the slower heat after qualifying in the sixth spot on Saturday, and was sixth in the 200 in 25.94. A 10-time PSAC placewinner, she has been in the top six in the 200 and 400 at three straight conference meets.

Johnson also ran the Warriors' top split on the 4x400m relay that placed third as freshman Nicole Brown, sophomore Tara Getz, Johnson and freshman Colleen Murphy ran a time of 3:59.48.

Freshman Rachel Pierantozzi scored in her first PSAC meet, finishing seventh in the 60m dash in 8.03 seconds after running a season-best of 7.95 in the prelims.

The 4x400 relay ran without senior multi-event athlete Trina Carito, who was held out of all of her events except for the high jump while nursing an injury. She was unable to defend her PSAC title in the pentathlon but placed in the high jump for the eighth time in her career, placing sixth at 5-1 3/4. Carito scored in 18 individual events and six relays at PSAC Championships and was a three-time conference champion. An NCAA provisional qualifier in the pentathlon, the NCAA Championships would be her final career meet as she completed her outdoor eligibility last year.

Junior Devyn Emerich joined Mayer and Carito to give the Warriors three placewinners in the women's high jump. Emerich tied for third with a mark of 5-3 3/4, matching her top finish from the indoor championships during her freshman season. She has placed in the top five at all five PSAC championships in her career.


Women's Results

Team Standings
1. Shippensburg – 158
2. Slippery Rock – 108.5
3. IUP – 74
4. Kutztown – 68
5. ESU – 64
6. California – 47
7. West Chester – 46
8. Millersville – 38
9. Edinboro – 29
t-10. Lock Haven – 21
t-10. Mansfield – 21
12. Cheyney – 20
13. Bloomsburg – 5
14. Clarion – 2.5

60m Dash
7. Rachel Pierantozzi – 8.03

200m
6. Jasmine Johnson – 25.94

400m
2. Jasmine Johnson – 57.53

800m
10. Bridget McCarron – 2:21.98
19. Kim Lowry – 2:24.14

Mile
10. Kim Wernerspach – 5:13.10

3000m
6. Corinne Fitzgerald – 9:59.72

4x400m Relay
3. Nicole Brown (61.6), Tara Getz (59.7), Jasmine Johnson (57.8), Colleen Murphy (60.4) – 3:59.48

High Jump
1. Lynn Mayer – 5-7 3/4
t-3. Devyn Emerich – 5-3 3/4
6. Trina Carito – 5-1 3/4
t-14. Theresa Horn – 4-11 3/4

Triple Jump
15. Jenn Alpers – 34-1 1/4

Shot Put
10. Jackie Berthelsen – 38-1 1/4
18. Elizabeth Madden – 36-4


Men's Results

Team Standings
1. Shippensburg – 145.5
2. Lock Haven – 125
3. ESU – 102.5
4. Slippery Rock – 99
5. Kutztown – 69
6. IUP – 49
7. California – 39.5
8. West Chester – 21
9. Millersville – 19
10. Mansfield – 13
11. Cheyney – 9
12. Bloomsburg – 7.5

60m Dash
4. Asher Ashfield – 7.04

200m
1. Negus Graham – 21.83
4. Ian Melhorn – 22.21
8. Asher Ashfield – 22.73

400m
1. Negus Graham – 47.95 (NCAAP)
5. Greg Pammer – 50.03

800m
1. Mike Saparito – 1:53.19 (NCAAP, SR)
18. Steve Werley – 2:00.21
19. Mahmoud Aldeen – 2:00.32

Mile
5. Amr Aldeen – 4:15.88

3000m
18. Chris Zadroga – 8:49.35
20. Mike Pereira – 8:52.13
21. Amr Aldeen – 8:53.89

60m Hurdles
4. Corey Young - 8.34

4x400m Relay
1. Keith Parker-Washington (50.7), Greg Pammer (49.8), Negus Graham (48.0), Ian Melhorn (49.2) – 3:17.99 (NCAAP)

High Jump
3. Kyle Soden – 6-5
t-5. Dan Johnson – 6-3 1/4

Triple Jump
t-12. Brandon Hillman – 42-8
15. Tim Burgio – 42-5 1/4

Heptathlon
3. Dan Johnson – 4,797 points (NCAAP, SR)


NCAA Championships Automatic and Provisional Qualifiers

Automatic – Women
Lynn Mayer (High Jump) – 5-9 1/4

Provisional – Women
Corinne Fitzgerald (5000m) – 17:30.03
Laura Beimfohr (Pole Vault) – 11-6 1/2
Trina Carito (Pentathlon) – 3,519 points
4x400m Relay – 3:53.73

Provisional – Men
Ian Melhorn (200m) – 22.20
Negus Graham (400m) – 47.95
Mike Saparito (800m) – 1:53.19
Corey Young (60m H) – 8.23
4x400m Relay – 3:17.99
Dan Johnson (Heptathlon) – 4,797 points