2008_09 Track and Field Recaps
The USTFCCCA (U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association) selection rules indicate that the top eight finishers in each individual event, as well as American finishers who finish outside of the top eight in their event but are among the top eight American finishers, earn All-America designation.
Bush competed in the long jump final at NCAA Championship held at John McDonnell at the University of Arkansas, but fouled on all three attempts.
Syracuse senior Kyle Heath earned All-America honors for the second consecutive year in the steeplechase, placing eighth with a time of 8:45.95.
The last member of the SU track & field team to earn All-America honors in successive seasons was Cheree Hicks (1999-2000, Discus and Shot Put). The last male to win consecutive All-America honors was Dering (1990-1991, hammer throw).
The Farmington, N.Y. native is SU’s second two-time distance All-American. Jim O’Connell accomplished the feat in 1982 and 1983 competing in the 5,000-meter run. Heath is the only harrier in Syracuse history to earn All-America honors in the steeplechase.
The last time the Orange boasted two outdoor All-America performers was in 2007 when sprinter Michael LeBlanc joined Drouin with a fourth-place time of 10.22 in the 100-meter dash.
Bush finished 11th out of 27 in the preliminary heat of the long jump. Bush’s new personal record of 7.78m qualified him for a shot at the national title, but in the final round, Bush was unable to place after disqualification. Bush fouled on all three attempts. Ngonidzashe Makusha of Florida State claimed the title with a winning leap of 8.11m.
Despite having to wait until almost midnight to compete, Heath qualified for the final heat of the steeplechase event at the 2009 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championship hosted by the University of Arkansas.
The NCAA issued a holding pattern for almost four hours as a front of severe thunderstorms made its way through John McConnell Field on Wednesday evening. The delay did not fluster Heath as he turned out a season-best time of 8:40.05.
Junior Uhunoma Osazuma set a personal record in the heptathlon, scoring 5,352 points. She finished 16th overall. The Las Vegas native jumped 5.85m for 12th place (804 points) in the long jump, threw the javelin 32.00m for 18th place (515 points) and concluded the competition in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:24.38 for 12th (765 points). Brianne Theisen of Oregon claimed the heptathlon title with 6,086 points. On the first day of action, Osazuwa finished in the top half of the 100-meter hurdles with a 12th place showing of 13.97 (983 points). The junior tied for 11th place in the high jump with Nebraska’s Megan Wheatley and UCLA’s Ryann Krais after clearing 1.69m (842 points). Osazuwa then registered her second-fastest time of the season in the 200-meter dash with a mark of 24.88 (898 points). Osazuwa’s lob of 10.23m in the shot put notched her 25th place points (545).
May 29-30 - NCAA East Regional Championship
HEATH BECOMES SECOND-EVER REGIONAL CHAMP FOR SU AFTER WINNING STEEPLECHASE - BUSH MAKES THE GRADE FOR NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP IN THE LONG JUMP
Senior Kyle Heath became Syracuse’s second-ever NCAA Regional Champion after winning the steeplechase on Saturday with a time of 8:46.51. Heath outran 31 other competitors to take part in his second consecutive NCAA Championship. Last year, Heath became Syracuse's first All-American distance runner since Jim O'Connell in 1983 after setting the school record in the steeplechase with a time of sixth-place time of 8:38.03 at the 2008 Division I Outdoor Track and Field NCAA Championships.
The Farmington, N.Y. native won the ECAC Championship two weeks in the same race and was named to the All-BIG EAST team after finishing in second place at the BIG EAST Outdoor Championship.
Heath joins Jillian Drouin as the only Orange to win an NCAA Regional event. Drouin won last year’s high jump event with a mark of 1.84m. The NCAA Regional Championships came into effect in 2003.
Senior Bernard Bush vaulted his way to the NCAA Championship after clearing 7.38m in the long jump during the first day of the NCAA Regional Championship at North Carolina A & T State on Friday night. Bush’s fifth-place leap garnered four points for the Orange.
Bush joins Kevin Dickson (Georgia – first place), Daune Teixeira (Cornell – second place), Jade Ellis (Duke – third place) and Ed Baldwin (North Carolina - fourth) in the long jump finals starting on June 10 in Fayetteville, Ark. The top five from each region move on to the national spotlight.
Three others contended in the steeplechase alongside Heath. Junior Curtis Bixler turned out a time of 9:09.43 for 11th place while freshman Pat Dupont crossed the line 9:14.52 for 15th. Sophomore Mike Brocks came in 23rd place after finishing the steeplechase in 9:25.84.
The 4 x 100-meter relay team that consisted of senior Terry Marshall, sophomores Sham Lewis and Jarret Eaton and Bush concluded its season after finishing in 13th place with a clip of 40.99.
Following the relay, Eaton and Marshall toed the line in the 110-meter hurdles but did not push through to the finals tomorrow. Eaton crossed the line in 14.07 for 10th place while Marshall was clocked in 14.25 for 16th.
Junior Uhunoma Osazuwa competed in the 100-meter hurdles but was not included in the qualifying heat as she was timed in 14.14 for 26th place. Osazuwa also took seventh in the high jump after a leap of 1.74m to go along with her 100-meter trial on Friday evening.
Sophomore Flings Owusu-Agyapong finished up in 25th place to the tune of 11.90 in the 100-meter dash but failed to qualify for Saturday’s final.
Sophomores Catherine DeSarle and Katie Hursey concluded the 5,000-meter run in 19th and 39th, respectively, with times of 16:55.10 and 17:30.71.
Junior Lorraine Hill started things off for the Orange on Saturday with her second farthest toss of the season in the javelin throw with a measure 43.94m. Hill finished third in her heat and 10th overall. Hill surpassed 19 other competitors in the second day of competition.
Sophomore Rebekah MacKay put her best foot forward in the women’s steeplechase for a 12th-place showing of 10:36.84. Freshman Natalie Busby churned out a mark of 10:50.68 for 17th while classmate Heather Stephens rounded the course in 10:56.05 for 22nd.
Heath and Bush will represent the Orange at the NCAA Outdoor Championship in Fayetteville, Ark. in two weeks starting on June 10.
Heath’s win garnered 10 points and Bush’s fifth-place performance posted four points for the men while Osazuwa’s seventh-place performance registered two points for the women. The men concluded the NCAA Regional in a tie for 15th place with Wake Forest, Princeton and Delaware State and the women tied for 45th with Georgia State, Dartmouth, Delaware and New Hampshire.
The four men combined for a championship time of 40.35, almost a half-second improvement from Saturday's qualifying time. SU's mark was a mere 0.04 seconds behind the school record set in 1995 by Sir Mawn Wilson, Cory Ward, Adrian Woodley and Jim Turner.
Junior Lorraine Hill notched her first NCAA Regional-qualifying toss in the javelin after recording a sixth-place measure of 44.82m. Hill's pitch was a personal best and eclipsed her season-high from the UNC Invite by 1.77m.
Eaton logged a fifth-place, NCAA Regional-qualifying time of 14.22 in the 110-meter hurdles finals. Marshall did not finish.
Junior Melissa Romero cleared 1.65m for 11th place in the women's high jump finals.
Junior Uhunoma Osazuwa stole the show on day two of the ECAC/IC4A Championship by attaining her second consecutive heptathlon title. The 2009 BIG EAST and ECAC heptathlon champion held the lead yesterday after winning both the high jump (1.72m) and 200-meter dash (24.59). Osazuwa clung onto a narrow 71-point lead against the College of William and Mary's Katie Guevel, but her first-place mark of 5.87m in the long jump on Saturday sealed the crown for the Las Vegas native. She finished with an NCAA Provisional-qualifying total of 5,258 points for her highest aggregate of the season.
Osazuwa finished fourth in the 100-meter hurdles (14.44), fifth in the 800-meter run (2:28.69), eighth in the shot put (10.45m) and ninth in the javelin toss (29.06m).
In addition to her championship routine, Osazuwa qualified for the semi-finals of the 100-meter hurdles with a 10th-place time of 14.42. In the next heat, she finished one spot outside of the top eight after shaving off almost four one-hundredths of a second in 14.03.
Syracuse set itself up for a promising final day of competition. Eaton beat out 29 others for the fastest preliminary mark in the 110-meter hurdles with an NCAA Regional-qualifying time of 14.06. Marshall posted a sixth-place mark of 14.09 to race with Eaton in tomorrow's final. The fourth-year hurdler's mark was completed in NCAA Regional-standard time and was his fastest clip of the outdoor season. Freshman Matt Callanan recorded a time of 15.14 in his first IC4A trial for 28th place.
Bush put up fine showing in the long jump, bringing home third place with his NCAA Regional-qualifying leap of 7.50m. Bush's bronze performance represents a personal best.
Lewis, Clark and Bush all vied for a spot in tomorrow's 100-meter dash finals, but none made their way into the top eight. Lewis registered the fastest Orange time of 10.80 for 17th while Bush was clocked in 10.93 for 25th and Clark finished one spot behind in 26th with a mark of 10.96.
Senior Skyy Simmons took part in the 400-meter preliminaries, but did qualify for the finals as he closed out the day with a time of 47.87 in 15th.
In the women's 400-meter prelim, senior Lauren McClenney finished her final ECAC race in 28th with a time of 56.69.
Sophomore Lareea Chisholm turned in a time of 12.20 for 22nd place in the 100-meter dash and 24.87 for 21st in the 200-meter trial.
Senior Kyle Heath sparked the Orange on the first day of the IC4A/ECAC Outdoor Championship hosted by Princeton University after collecting his second-consecutive IC4A crown in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with an NCAA Regional-qualifying time of 8:42.38. Heath, who touted the fourth-fastest collegiate mark (8:40.89) heading into Friday night's race, won last year's IC4A title with a time of 8:50.82.
The 2008 All-American received All-BIG EAST honors two weeks ago at the conference championship with an NCAA-qualifying clip of 8:44.86. Tonight's results marked his second-fastest rate of the outdoor season.
Heath was not the only Orange to leave an impression at Princeton's Weaver Track & Field in the first day of action. Osazuwa continued in her dominating ways and leads the pack for the ECAC heptathlon chase.
Osazuwa won both the high jump and 200-meter dash to keep her ahead of the other contenders. The Las Vegas native cleared 1.72m and was clocked in 24.59 for top billing in those respective events. The 2009 BIG EAST Champ finished fourth in the 100-meter hurdles in 14.44 and eighth in the shot put with a toss of 10.45m.
In the women's 5,000-meter run, sophomore Catherine DeSarle logged an NCAA Regional-qualifying time of 16:42.20 to break the school record for the second time this season. DeSarle's record-breaking clip yielded a third-place showing. Sophomore Rebekah MacKay was clocked in 17:06.26 for ninth while classmate Katie Hursey finished in 16th in 17:21.17.
For the men, sophomore Steven Weeks turned in a 21st-place time of 14:29.93 in the 5K.
Junior Curtis Bixler and freshman Pat Dupont tallied NCAA Regional-qualifying times of 8:59.24 and 9:03.09, respectively, to finish out in ninth and tenth place. Bixler's marked his second NCAA run this season, but Dupont recorded his first mark to make him eligible for Regionals on May 29 in Greensboro, N.C. Sophomore Mike Brocks closed out the Syracuse efforts in 19th after posting a time of 9:09.94.
Freshman Heather Stephens chalked up another NCAA Regional-qualifying performance in the women's steeplechase with her seventh-place time of 10:37.50. Stephens' time denoted her first NCAA-qualifying jaunt of the year. Classmate Natalie Busby rounded out her steeplechase run in 10:41.03 for ninth in NCAA Regional-qualifying form. Junior Stefanie Slekis closed out in 24th to the tune of 11:13.78.
On Friday, Osazuwa tallied the best performances in the 100-meter hurdles, high jump and the 200-meter dash. Two of her four top showings were executed in NCAA Regional-qualifying style. Osazuwa's winning marks of 13.88 in the 100-meter hurdles and 1.76 in the long jump earned her the right to compete at the NCAA Regional Championship in Greensboro, N.C. on May 29. She also claimed first with a time of 25.23 in the 200-meter dash. Osazuwa closed out day one with a fourth-place mark in the shot put with a toss of 10.62m.
On day two, Osazuwa posted another winning mark of 5.62m in the long jump. The junior logged a fifth-place time of 2:28.55 in the 800-meter run and an eighth-place toss of 27.58m in the javelin to round out her winning point total.
Osazuwa maintained Syracuse's presence atop the heptathlon podium as Jillian Drouin won both the 2007 and 2008 BIG EAST Outdoor heptathlon crowns, becoming the first repeat conference champion in a multi-event since Pittsburgh's Tamara McGill in 2003, 2004 and 2005.
Senior Kyle Heath, last year's BIG EAST steeplechase champion, garnered all-conference laurels in the same event with a second-place showing of 8:44.86. Heath's NCAA Regional-qualifying clip denotes his second fastest time this season.
Senior Bernard Bush staked claim to All-BIG EAST recognition with a second-place, IC4A-qualifying leap of 7.28m in the long jump. Sophomore Catherine DeSarle registered SU's fourth All-BIG EAST performance in the 10,000-meter run with a third-place, ECAC-qualifying time of 35:43.90.
The women's distance team produced three NCAA Regional-qualifying times in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Sophomore Rebekah MacKay and freshmen Natalie Busby and Heather Stephens finished up in sixth, seventh and 10th, respectively. MacKay's time of 10:36.7 represented SU's third fastest steeplechase time of the season while Busby and Stephens were clocked in respective times of 10:39.0 and 10:47.2. Junior Stefanie Slekis finished in 22nd after posting a time of 11:30.3.
Junior Lorraine Hill turned in a 12th place showing of 39.03m in the javelin throw.
Along with Heath's All-BIG EAST accomplishment, junior Curtis Bixler and sophomore Michael Brocks both offered up NCAA Regional-qualifying times of 9:02.63 and 9:05.40, in that order, for fourth and sixth place in the steeplechase. Freshman Pat Dupont crossed the line in IC4A time of 9:13.14 for 11th.
Rookie Griff Graves closed out his first-career race at the conference championship with a ninth-place clip of 31:31.60 in the 10,000-meter challenge.
Sophomore Kwaku Boah was listed in 16th after his pitch of 14.04m in the shot put. Newcomer Mark Melilli joined Boah in the field after posting a seventh-place toss of 55.79m in the javelin toss.
Following up on the women's heptathlon, freshman Priscilla Ilarraza came in 12th with an aggregate of 3,558 points. Ilarraza's best performance was a fourth-place tying leap of 1.61m in the high jump.
Syracuse was one of two teams (Connecticut) to enter four names into the decathlon event. Senior Mike Chitro leapt four spots from day one to claim seventh with a total of 6,129 points. Sophomore Nicholas Damato was right on Chitro's heels with an eighth-place performance of 6,071 points while classmate Evan Stivala notched 10th after accumulating 5,950 points. Junior Eric Cleckner's total of 5,839 points earned him 11th.
The men turned in three second-place feats upon conclusion of the decathlon. Cleckner earned second in the 1,500-meter run (4:29.24) and the long jump (6.54m) whereas Chitro placed second in the 110-meter hurdles (15.60).
Senior Michael LeBlanc and sophomore Flings Owusu-Agyapong improved Syracuse’s All-BIG EAST performance total to six with a pair of third-place finishes in their respective 100-meter dash finals on Sunday at Jumbo Elliott Track. The Orange men placed ninth (49 points) and the Orange women finished 12th (31.50) at the 2009 BIG EAST Outdoor Championship.
LeBlanc was awarded the bronze after his IC4A-qualifying time of 10.69 while Owusu-Agyapong made the podium with her third-place, ECAC-qualifying time of 11.82. As a sophomore, LeBlanc was crowned the 100-meter champion after bolting to the tune of 10.40 at the 2007 BIG EAST Championship.
Sophomore Sham Lewis and junior Antoine Clark ran alongside LeBlanc in the 100-meter dash, recording fifth- and seventh-place times, respectively, of 10.88 and 10.96.
Senior Skyy Simmons was on the cusp of All-BIG EAST laurels, but missed out by a mere 0.33 seconds in the 400-meter dash. Simmons finished fourth with a time of 47.58.
In the 5,000-meter run, sophomore Katie Hursey posted a 12th place finish in ECAC fashion of 17:08.54. On the men's side, Heath was 11th with an IC4A-qualifying time of 14:32.68. Sophomore Steve Weeks and Bixler were hot on his trail with 13th and 14th place times of 14:35.04 and 14:35.68, respectively.
Senior Terry Marshall represented SU in the 110-meter hurdles finals with a sixth-place time of 14.65 and qualified for the IC4A Championship.
Boah was16th in the hammer throw (46.32m). In the shot put, Boah was also 16th (14.04m).
After winning the heptathlon on Saturday, Osazuwa posted an eighth-place height of 1.60m in the high jump. Junior Annabelle Pellerin also cleared 1.60m. Senior Melissa Romero led the Orange with a seventh-place mark of 1.65m.
Senior Kayla Carter lept 10.92m in the long jump for 15th place.
Freshman Pat Dupont, one of two Orange members to represent the United States at the 2009 World Cross Country Championship in late March, posted a second-place IC4A mark of 9:07.59 in the men's steeplechase event. Dupont recorded his fastest outdoor time in the steeplechase in the City of Brotherly Love, but missed out on an NCAA Regional-qualifying mark by a mere .59 seconds.
In the women's field events, junior Uhunoma Osazuwa cleared the bar of 1.70m for an ECAC-eligible distance for third place while senior Melissa Romero tallied a fifth-place vault of 1.67m for fifth place.
Junior Lorraine Hill, who has notched two javelin toss titles already this season, landed in fourth place after her ECAC-qualifying heave of 42.49m in the javelin.
Osazuwa also participated in the long jump, finishing in 22nd place with a mark of 5.44m.
Penn Relays | Day Two
Syracuse pressed on in day two at the 115th annual Penn Relays at the University of Pennsylvania's Franklin Field on Friday.
The 4 x 100-meter relay team of seniors Michael LeBlanc and Antoine Clark and sophomores Jarret Eaton and Sham Lewis qualified for tomorrow's final relay race after finishing fourth in the second heat, 19th overall, with an IC4A-eligible time of 41.03.
LeBlanc also participated in the 100-meter dash, finishing up in 19th place with an IC4A mark of 10.80.
Sophomore Flings Owusu-Agyapong turned in a 23rd-place effort in the women's 100-meter dash with a BIG EAST-qualifying clip of 12.15.
Eaton turned out a 25th-place showing with an IC4A-mark of 14.53 in the 110-meter hurdles.
Penn Relays | Day Three
Senior Bernard Bush and the men’s 4 x 100-meter relay team wrapped up its journey at the 115th annual Penn Relays at the University of Pennsylvania’s Franklin Field on Saturday afternoon.
Bush finished in third place with an NCAA-Regional qualifying leap of 7.45m on Friday afternoon,topping 22 other competitors. Sophomore Victor Nwosu tallied a 19th-place vault of 6.64m.
Seniors Antoine Clark and Bush and sophomores Jarret Eaton and Sham Lewis joined forces for a fifth-place showing in the 4 x 100-meter relay with an IC4A-qualifying time of 41.06. The Orange’s time was almost identical to Friday’s mark of 41.03 to earn the spot in the nine-team championship race.
Cornell Big Red Invitational
Following the three-day festival in Philadelphia at the 115th Penn Relays, the Orange stayed close to home on Sunday and posted eight top three performances, including three first-place finishes on the women's side, at the Cornell Big Red Invitational.
Sophomore Lareea Chisholm's new personal record in the 200-meter dash of 24.54 was good enough to beat out 38 others for first place. Chisholm's mark is the fastest women's 200-meter dash time so far this season, qualifying her for the ECAC Championship on May 15. Second-year sprinters Samantha Haughton and Treeva Royes turned in 15th and 22nd place times of 26.84 and 27.59, respectively.
Sophomore Liz McCarter won the 1,500-meter run with an ECAC-qualifying time of 4:36.22 while junior Maegan Krifchin was clocked in 4:44.95 for second place. Freshman Natalee Fisher and senior Emily Goncalves notched two more top 10 spots with respective marks of 4:56.67 and 5:05.09 for sixth and 10th place.
Sophomore Kelsey Rubeor recorded the third women's first-place deed with a toss of 12.39m in the shot put. Rookie Meryl Engler came in fourth after clearing 11.12m while junior Uhunoma Osazuwa wrapped up seventh with a mark of 10.72m. Sophomore Priscilla Ilarraza finished in 18th after a yank of 8.13m.
Freshman Matthew Callanan hit a BIG EAST-qualifying mark of 14.93 in the 110-meter hurdles for the men's sole championship on Sunday. Senior Mike Chitro landed in the top 10 after a sixth-place time of 15.71 while sophomore Nick Damato was awarded 15th with his measure of 16.59. Second-year hurdler Evan Stivala finished in 19th with a time of 18.60.
In the men's 200-meter dash, senior Skyy Simmons bestowed the Orange with a second-place showing after he broke the tape with an IC4A-qualifying time of 21.75. Sophomore David Dubin's run of 23.51was good enough for 28th.
Haughton participated in the 400-meter dash and finished 10th with a time of 1:00.11 while senior Shauna Harris concluded the race in 11th just 0.05 seconds behind her teammate (1:00.16). Royes finished one lap in 1:02.03.
Five Orange women partook in the 800-meter race as senior Stacie Boyle led the way with a seventh-place showing in 2:20.03. Juniors Olivia Beane and Deanna Schmitt were pegged in 12th and 14th, in that order, with times of 2:22.02 and 2:23.39. Freshman Meghan Donohue and senior Genna Pfeiffer registered 20th and 22nd place with respective marks of 2:27.55 and 2:28.80.
Junior Lisa Giacometti was SU's sole representative in the 5,000-meter run, wrapping up the race in fourth-place time of 18:34.86.
Sophomore Tricia Wardwell beat out five others in the steeplechase for fourth place with a mark of 11:53.35.
In the women's high jump, Ilarraza collected eighth place after clearing 1.50m.
Sophomores Leah Testa and Danielle Sherwood tallied eighth and 11th place measures in the women's pole vault with respective scores of 3.15m and 3.00m.
Sophomore Alison Levchak garnered fourth after clearing 5.46m in the long jump event.
In the women's triple jump, senior Christina Connolly strung together a seventh-place combination of 11.07m while Levchak logged an eighth-place finish after jumping for 10.96m.
Engler represented the Orange with an 11th-place toss in the discus throw after clearing 31.15m.
Upon conclusion of the women's javelin toss, Rubeor, Osazuwa and Ilarraza finished up in eighth, 11th and 16th after generating tosses of 29.07m, 27.50m and 24.67m.
Dubin was granted 23rd with a mark of 52.89 in the 400-meter dash. In the 800-meter run, sophomores Nat Saviet and Greg Manning Smith finished alongside each other with 14th and 15th place times of 1:59.23 and 1:59.49. Freshmen Ryan Ellis and Albert Sostre ran two laps in 19th and 22nd after being clocked in 2:00.64 and 2:01.18.
A band of Orange crossed the line in 10th, 11th and 12th as junior Matt Martina, senior Robbie Cary and sophomore Brady Becker registered times of 4:07.09, 4:07.61 and 4:07.80 in the 1,500-meter run. Junior Patrick Murray was tabbed in 17th to the tune of 4:11.73 while freshman Ricky Balmaseda was timed in 4:29.06 for 34th.
Freshman Nick Roertgen earned SU a seventh-place finish in 16:26.76 during the 5,000-meter run.
The men's field accomplishments were highlighted by freshman Mark Melilli's third-place, BIG EAST-qualifying performance of 54.56m in the javelin toss and sophomore Kwaku Boah's third-place, conference-qualifying lob of 15.28m in the shot put. Sophomore Nicholas Damato was handed fourth place after he cleared 53.59m in the javelin toss while freshman Alexander Pfister notched eighth with a lob of 49.10m. Junior Eric Cleckner attained 11th place after a toss of 46.57m.
Cleckner acquired another 11th place performance with a mark of 4.05m in the pole vault event.
Sophomore Victor Nwosu exceeded an IC4A-qualfying mark of 7.13m for fourth-place in the long jump while classmate Evan Stivala grabbed 11th place with a vault of 6.39m.
Chitro, Cleckner and Stivala finished in 11th, 18th and 26th, respectively, after tallying marks of 37.08m, 32.59m and 30.31m in the discus throw. Boah's distance of 48.34m was enough for sixth place in the hammer throw.
April 17-18 - Princeton Larry Ellis Invitational | Cortland ClassicORANGE TAKES DOWN SEVEN NCAA REGIONAL QUALIFYING MARKS AT PRINCETON
Princeton Larry Ellis Invitational
The Syracuse distance team had many great moments at the Larry Ellis Invitational as the Friday night lights paved the way for Syracuse at Weaver Stadium. Senior Kyle Heath highlighted the Orange effort with an NCAA-Regional qualifying victory in the steeplechase while three women recorded NCAA marks in the same contest.
In the outdoor opener at Stanford, Heath set the standard with an impressive time of 8:40.89 for second place, but his time of 8:51.39 at Princeton was good enough for the title on Friday night. The Farmington, N.Y. native topped 38 other competitors for SU's first men's steeplechase crown of the outdoor season.
Freshmen Natalie Busby and Heather Stephens along with sophomore Rebekah MacKay all qualified for the NCAA Regional with fine performances, as well. Busby's mark of 10:33.45 notched her a second-place finish while MacKay crossed the line in 10:36.04 for third. Stephens put forth another top 10 time of 10:39.77 for seventh place. Junior Stefanie Slekis made a splash with a 12th-place performance of 10:53.05, making her eligible for the conference championship at the beginning of May.
Sophomores Catherine DeSarle and Katie Hursey each posted ECAC marks in the 1,500-meter run with respective times of 4:29.76 for 10th and 4:31.38 for 13th. Second-year harrier Liz McCarter qualified for the BIG EAST Outdoor Championship with a 17th-place showing of 4:34.28. Junior Maegan Krifchin took home 23rd place with a clip of 4:40.52.
Following up in the men's 3,000-meter steeplechase, freshman Pat Dupont made the grade for the IC4A's with a time of 9:11.83 for eighth while sophomore Michael Brocks earned a spot at the BIG EAST meet with his 11th-place time of 9:16.20.
Freshman Griff Graves and sophomore Steve Weeks put up a good fight in the 5,000-meter challenge with IC4A times of 14:20.71 and 14:23.45, in that order, for 11th and 12th place. Sophomore Corey Robinson finished up in 59th with a mark of 15:18.40.
Senior Stacie Boyle turned in a 20th-place performance of 2:15.37 in the 800-meter race.
After a great showing from the Orange distance team on Friday night, the sprinters and hurdlers followed suit with nine top-three performances in day two.
Junior Uhunoma Osazuwa represented one of those three NCAA feats with a first-place finish in the women's 100-meter hurdles with a time of 13.85. Osazuwa, known for her versatility in the heptathlon, dominated the field of 22 by besting the next closest competitor by 0.4 seconds.
Sophomore Jarret Eaton and senior Terry Marshall followed in their teammate's ways by making the NCAA Regional grade in the men's 110-meter hurdles. Eaton claimed second place in 13.99 while Marshall was tabbed one position behind for third in 14.29. Marshall's mark passed the NCAA Regional standard by a mere one one-hundredth of a second.
Despite it being the first men's outdoor relay race of the season, the quartet of seniors Michael LeBlanc and Antoine Clark, sophomore Sham Lewis and Eaton did not let any cobwebs get in the way as the Orange four posted a first-place, IC4A-eligible time of 40.99 in the 4x100-meter relay.
Both the men and women put on a show at Weaver Track in the 100-meter dash. Sophomore Flings Owusu-Agyapong won her second race of the year with an ECAC-time of 11.83 while classmate Lareea Chisholm second-place performance of 12.08 also yielded ECAC merit. Osazuwa followed up her victory with a fifth-place showing of 12.41 while senior Melissa Romero finished in 15th with a time of 13.25.
After acting as one part of the winning 4x100-meter relay, Clark's solo 100-meter mission ended up with a second place, IC4A time of 10.64. Lewis also earned a bid to the IC4A's with his fifth-place time of 10.80.
Along with Eaton and Marshall's achievements in the 110-meter hurdles, freshman Matthew Callanan locked up a BIG EAST bid with a 10th-place mark of 14.96. Senior Mike Chitro did the same with a 12th-place showing of 15.25.
In the women's 400-meter race, senior Lauren McClenney topped 19 others for fourth place with an ECAC-qualifying time of 55.66. Classmate Shauna Harris finished up the same race in 18th with a clip of 1:01.33.
Senior Skyy Simmons grabbed sixth place in the men's 400-meter dash and elicited IC4A honors for his efforts.
Syracuse enjoyed three top 10 performers in the men's 200-meter dash as Marshall, Simmons and Eaton closed out the race in fourth, fifth and eighth, respectively. Marshall and Simmons garnered IC4A bids while Eaton became eligible to the BIG EAST Championship. Callanan's time of 22.73 earned him 31st.
In the field, SU boasted two third-place finishes. Senior Bernard Bush's combination of 14.17m in the triple jump earned him a pass to the BIG EAST meet while junior Lorraine Hill, two-time winner in the javelin throw this season, hit the ECAC standard with a heave of 41.00m. Hill finished up in 15th with a throw of 33.69m in the discus throw.
Osazuwa's toss of 10.47m in the shot put produced an 11th-place showing while Romero's leap of 1.70m in the high jump churned out a sixth-place, ECAC mark.
Cortland Classic
As one part of the track & field team crossed over into the Garden State for competition, the other portion stayed in Central New York and chalked up 11 top three finishes at the Cortland Classic.
The Orange shined in the multis segment of the meet as Syracuse recorded first-place point totals in both the heptathlon and decathlon. Freshman Priscilla Ilarraza won six of seven events for the heptathlon title while sophomore Nick Damato recorded four top finishes for the decathlon crown. Classmate Evan Stivala won two events en route to a second place showing.
Illarraza's winning marks came in the 100-meter hurdles (16.05), high jump (1.66m), shot put (8.41m), 200-meter dash (27.48), long jump (4.71m) and the javelin throw (25.10m). She took second in the 800-meter run in 2:44.50 to solidify her winning point total of 4,000 points.
Damato brought home first-place performances in the 100-meter dash (11.62), 400-meter dash (51.22), discus throw (35.69m) and the javelin throw (53.49m) on the way to his championship point total of 6,035. Stivala's second-place score of 5,958 was aided by his top marks in the shot put (10.98m) and high jump (1.86m).
Sophomore Kwaku Boah tallied one of five Orange first-place performances with a BIG EAST-qualifying lob of 15.29m in the shot put. Boah also wrapped up the hammer and discus throws in third and fourth place, respectively, with a heaves of 51.36m and 38.47m. Boah's third-place mark in the hammer throw made him eligible for the BIG EAST Championship.
Junior Lisa Giacometti locked up first place in the 5,000-meter run with a time of 17:52.26 whereas sophomore Alison Levchak picked up Syracuse's fifth and final first place merit in the long jump with a vault of 5.20m. Levchak garnered second place in the triple jump with a combination of 10.66m and turned out a 14th place finish in the 100-meter dash in 13.90.
Sophomores Samantha Haughton and Treeva Royes secured third and seventh place, correspondingly, with clips of 27.20 and 28.24 in the women's 200-meter dash. Haughton's 1:01.25 mark yielded another third-place performance in the 400-meter dash while Royes capped the 400-meter dash in 1:05.46 for 14th.
In the 800-meter run, juniors Deanna Schmitt and Olivia Beane, freshman Meghan Donohue and senior Genna Pfeiffer claimed respective showings of sixth (2:21.26), eighth (2:22.27), 11th (2:24.72) and 22nd (2:34.00).
Freshman Natalee Fisher turned in an 11th-place effort in the 1,500-meter run with a time of 4:57.71 while sophomore Tricia Wardwell took 10th in the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 12:15.66.
In the women's field, a three-way tie for fourth place occurred in the pole vault as sophomores Danielle Sherwood and Leah Testa and freshman Paris McLean all hit the 3.11m mark.
Freshman Meryl Engler concluded the shot put in third place with a lob of 10.87m while her toss of 31.56m in the discus throw was good enough for 10th. Engler also finished in 14th place with a pitch of 32.99m in the hammer throw.
On the men's side, sophomore David Dubin posted 13th place times in both the 200 and 400-meter dash in 23.25 and 51.17, respectively. Freshman Ryan Ellis' time of 2:05.45 was good enough for 35th in the 800-meter run while junior Robbie Cary broke the tape in 4:04.67 for 11th place in the 1,500-meter run. Four others tested their endurance in the 1,500-meter as junior Matt Martina, freshman Jeff Sweeney, sophomore Patrick Murray and first-year runner Ricky Balmaseda concluded the race in consequential times of 4:10.62 (24th), 4;11.35 (26th), 4:14.34 (31st) and 4:27.04 (44th).
In the distance competition, freshman Brady Becker was one of nine harriers to break the meet record of 15:19.07 set in 2007. Becker's clip of 15:06.33 was good enough for fourth while classmate Nick Roertgen took down 21st with a total of 16:06.12.
April 11 - UNC Invitational
SYRACUSE MIXES ORANGE INTO CAROLINA BLUE WITH THREE FIRST-PLACE FINISHES IN CHAPEL HILL
The track & field team flashed its speed and agility at the UNC Invitational on Saturday as the Orange sported seven top-three finishes, including three first first-place performances at Belk Track and Feltzer Field.
Sophomore Flings Owusu-Agyapong and senior Michael LeBlanc each motored past the field in their respective 100-meter dash races while junior Lorraine Hill claimed her second crown of the outdoor season in the javelin throw event.
Owusu-Agyapong, who owned the highest seeding coming into Saturday's challenge, lived up to the billing as she cranked out an NCAA-Regional qualifying time of 11.66 for the victory.
LeBlanc, also tabbed as the No. 1 seed in the men's 100-meter dash, maintained top status with an IC4A-qualifiying clip of 10.60. The Riverview, New Brunswick native missed out on the NCAA Regional by a spilt half second.
Hill's heave of 43.05m topped 14 other competitors in the javelin for the top spot, as she earned herself a bid to the ECAC Championship with her winning mark. Hill smashed her winning toss of 38.70m to claim the Florida State Relays in the outdoor opener two weeks ago.
Senior Bernard Bush had a big day for Syracuse, chipping in two second-place showings on Saturday. Bush eclipsed the NCAA-Regional standard with a second-place spring of 7.40m in the long jump and met BIG EAST criteria with a mark of 14.42m in the triple jump.
Senior Lauren McClenney and junior Uhunoma Osazuwa comprised the remaining top three performances. McClenney tallied a third-place time of 56.29 in the 400-meter dash while Osazuwa notched a berth to the ECAC Championship with her third-place vault of 1.70m in the long jump.
Turning back to the 100-meter dash, sophomore Lareea Chisolm carved out a BIG EAST-qualifying time of 12.16 for sixth place time. Owusu-Agyapong and Chisolm grabbed seventh and ninth, respectively, in the 200-meter dash with ECAC-eligible marks of 24.58 and 24.70, in that order, while Osazuwa concluded the 200-meter in 25.56 for 17th. Freshman Illarraza Priscilla completed half the track in 27.63 for 25th.
In the women's field events, junior Melissa Romero obtained seventh in the high jump with a leap of 1.65m while Ilarraza took down 13th after clearing 1.60m.
Osazwua missed out on hitting the BIG EAST-qualifying standard by one one-hundredth of a meter in the long jump with a spring of 5.59m for sixth.
Following up with LeBlanc's victory in the 100-meter dash, sophomore Shamel Lewis turned out a fourth-place, IC4A-qualifying time of 10.73 while senior Antoine Clark finished right behind in fifth with another IC4A mark of 10.74.
The Orange men submitted five names into the 200-meter hat as LeBlanc emerged to the fore out of that group. LeBlanc cleared a BIG EAST mark of 21.84 for sixth place while senior Terry Marshall snagged seventh with another conference-adequate time of 21.89. Lewis' BIG EAST-eligible clip of 22.08 was good enough for 10th. Clark was slotted in 14th after turning in a time of 22.27 while newcomer Matthew Callanan finished up in 28th with a time of 22.98.
Callanan put on a nice run in the 110-meter hurdles with an eighth-place, BIG EAST eligible showing of 15.09. Senior Mike Chitro and junior Eric Cleckner, two of SU's more versatile athletes, picked up 11th and 15th, respectively, with times of 15.40 and 16.36.
Aside from Bush's second-place act, sophomore Victor Nwosu landed in seventh with a leap of 6.69m in the long jump.
Sophomore Kwaku Boah bested 11 other hurlers with a BIG EAST-qualifying lob of 15.54m for fifth place. Chitro took home 14th with a toss of 11.27m while junior Jon Buice's pitch of 11.10m was good enough for 15th.
Chitro, SU's lone competitor in the discus throw, claimed eighth with toss of 42.41m. Chitro's lob entitled him to a spot in the BIG EAST Outdoor Championship.
Boah attained eighth in the hammer throw with a heave of 46.14m while Cleckner's launch of 45.48m in the javelin toss secured an 11th place mark. Buice earned 12th in the javelin throw after clearing 43.99m.
April 3-4 - Princeton Sam Howell Invitational
BIXLER AND BUSBY BREAK NCAA REGIONAL MARKS WHILE EATON PICKS UP FIRST
Junior Curtis Bixler and freshman Natalie Busby both turned in team-best fourth place finishes at the Weaver Outdoor Track & Field Stadium. Bixler's time of 9:04.29 in the 3,000-meter steeplechase resulted in his first NCAA Regional-qualifying mark for the Orange while Busby earned the same feat with her clip of 10:45.14 in the women's race.
Freshman Heather Stephens and sophomore Rebekah Mackay elicited strong times in the 5,000-meter challenge after the two harriers wrapped up fifth and sixth place, in that order, with IC4A-qualfying times of 17:15.30 and 17:20.27.
Sophomore Michael Brocks collected 15th place in 9:38.22 while junior Lynne Mundy's eight-place mark of 11:12.65 earned her a spot at the BIG EAST Outdoor Championship in the steeplechase.
Sophomore Steve Weeks just missed top 10 status with his time of 3:57.29 in the 1,500-meter run for 11th.
Junior Maegan Krifchin and sophomore Liz McCarter cleared 13th and 20th place in the 1,500-meter race, respectively, after finishing up in 4:44.33 and 4:54.82.
Junior Dan Busby, three-time Northeast All-Region cross country runner, competed in his first outdoor race of the season with a time of 15:26.29 for 30th in the 5K.
Sophomore Jarret Eaton and senior Skyy Simmons highlighted SU's efforts in day two of the Princeton Sam Howell Invitational with a first-place and two second-place performances, respectively, on Saturday.
Eaton surpassed 20 other competitors in his first outdoor race of the season with a first-place showing in the 110-meter hurdles in IC4A fashion of 14.73.
Sophomore Evan Stivala finished in 20th with a time of 17.25 in the same event.
Simmons bested 35 other runners in the 400-meter dash for second place in 47.99. With that mark, Simmons earned the right to run at the IC4A Championship on May 15. Simmons turned in another IC4A-eligible time for second place in the 200-meter dash with a clip of 21.70.
Eaton's BIG EAST-qualifying time of 22.02 resulted in sixth place in a field of 30 sprinters.
Senior Shauna Harris turned out a time of 1:01.48 in the women's 400-meter dash for 24th place.
In the field, freshman Priscilla Ilarraza claimed 10th place with a vault of 1.55m in the high jump and 15th in the long jump with a mark of 4.74m.
Sophomore Alison Levchak came in 18th with a 4.61m leap in the long jump and beat out nine others for eighth place in the triple jump with a combination of 10.34m.
Sophomore Danielle Sherwood grabbed sixth place with a spring of 3.20m in the pole vault while sophomore Nicholas Damato cleared 48.55m in the javelin throw for eighth. Freshman Alexander Pfister was slotted 12th for his 46.33m performance in the same affair.
In the men's long jump, Damato recorded a 6.11m mark for 10th while Stivala tallied a 16th place jump of 5.84m.
As the FSU Relays was a scored event, the Syracuse men's team finished in fourth place out of seven teams with 14 points while the women's side was slotted in fifth place out of 11 squads with 15 points.
On Thursday, Osazuwa asserted her claim to the heptathlon after two BIG EAST-qualifying marks of 14.80 in the 100-meter hurdles and 1.68m in the high jump. Both feats were good for first place. Osazuwa dusted the field for first again in the 200-meter dash with a time of 26.48. Osazuwa's fortitude in the field paid off for two second-place marks in the shot put and long jump with tallies of 10.68m and 5.53m. Osazuwa wrapped up the seven-event affair with a sixth place fling of 26.71m in the javelin and a time of 2:33.78 in the 800-meter run.
Osazuwa's overall point total of 4,797 earned her a spot to compete at the ECAC's come mid-May.
Sophomore Kelsey Rubeor totaled 4,241 points for fourth place after collecting first place in the shot put (10.97m) and javelin toss (35.67m) along with a third-place mark in the high jump of 1.56m.
Junior Lorraine Hill emerged with a first-place finish in the javelin throw. Hill's toss of 38.70 eclipsed a BIG EAST-qualifying mark in the rout of eight other competitors.
Junior Eric Cleckner and senior Mike Chitro wrapped up their first tests of the season in the decathlon event with third and fourth place totals. Cleckner grabbed two top marks, four second place honors and one third place finish en route to a 6,124 point total while Chitro picked up two first-place performances and three third-place billings for 5,882 points.
Cleckner notched his top honors in the 400-meter dash and 1,500-meter run with times of 52.09 and 4:37.35, respectively. His second place showings came in the high jump (1.81m), 100-meter dash (11.41), long jump (6.43m) and javelin throw (47.30m) while his third place finish came in the discus throw with a lob of 33.58m.
Chitro finished ahead of eight other competitors in the high jump with a first-place vault of 1.84m and a top mark in the discus throw of 35.92m. Chitro turned in a third-place time of 5:06.02 in the 1,500-meter run and a heave of 11.51m in the shot put.
Freshman Ieva Staponkute added to her second-place leap on Friday with the same finish in the triple jump. Staponkute surpassed the BIG EAST qualifying mark with a combination of 11.85m. On day one of competition, Staponkute reaped another second-place performance for the Orange with a vault of 5.49m in the women’s long jump.
Senior Bernard Bush mirrored Staponkute’s ways with an IC4A-qualifying spring of 7.23m in the long jump for second-place while junior Victor Nwosu picked up fifth after clearing 6.63m.
Sophomore Kwaku Boah hurled the hammer 39.39m for sixth place and the discus 35.13m for ninth place. On Friday, Boah knocked down second place with a toss of 14.39m in the shot put.
In the remaining four races the Orange competed in on day three, sophomore Flings Owusu-Agyapong came away with the best performance after hitting the NCAA Regional qualifying time on the nose in the 100-meter dash. Owusu-Agyapong finished in third place with a clip of 11.75, just 0.14 seconds behind Florida State's Danielle Jeffrey.
Second-year transfer Jarret Eaton eclipsed the IC4A mark in the men's 100-meter dash with a ninth-place effort of 10.81.
Freshman Matthew Callanan met IC4A criteria in the 110-meter hurdles with a seventh-place performance of 14.76 while senior Lauren McClenney rounded out the 800-meter run in 2:30.48 for 10th place.
Stanford Invitational
The Syracuse distance team rode the successes of senior steeplechaser Kyle Heath at the Stanford Invitational after he finished ahead of 13 other collegiates in the 3,000-meter steeplechase for second place, overall.
Heath dominated the course in 8:40.89, a mere 2.86 seconds from matching the school record (8:38.03) he set at last year's 2008 Division I Outdoor Track and Field NCAA Championships in Des Moines, Iowa. After his sixth-place performance at the national championship, Heath became Syracuse's first distance runner All-American since Jim O'Connell in 1983.
Heath's set himself up for the postseason as his time was well below the NCAA Regional qualifying standard of 9:07.00.
Junior Curtis Bixler ran the steeplechase in 9:28.71 for 17th place.
Heath was not the only who enjoyed the fruits of hard offseason training. Syracuse's graduate assistant coach, Maureen McCandless, topped 20 other harriers in the section 1 grouping of the women's 5,000-meter run in 15:34.31. McCandless ran for her sponsor, New Balance, on Friday afternoon at the Cobb Track & Angell Field.
As of March 30, 2009, Heath and McCandless own the fastest times in their respective races. Heath's is the fastest amongst all collegiate while McCandless has the fastest time in the world.
A pair of second-year tracksters cleaned up in the section 3 run of the women's 5,000-meter challenge as Catherine DeSarle and Katie Hursey finished third and fourth, respectively, in a field of stiff competition. DeSarle's mark of 16:44.61 and Hursey's rate of 16:46.93 both eclipsed the NCAA Regional mark on Friday. Junior Maegan Krifchin did not complete the race.
Sophomore Steve Weeks took part in the men's section 3 5,000-meter run, clearing 14:24.94 for ninth place. Week's time yielded a spot at the IC4A Outdoor Championship on May 15.
2009 IAAF World Cross Country Championship
On February 7, head coach Chris Fox led a few of his up-and-coming harriers to the 2009 USA Cross Country Championships at the Agricultural History Farm Park in Derwood, Md. The result of that meet was groundbreaking for the Syracuse cross country and track & field program as freshmen Pat Dupont and Tito Medrano earned the right to don the red, white and blue at the 37th IAAF World Cross Country Championship.
America's finest distance runners were challenged in an 8K race and the top six finishers would be sent overseas to run for the junior men's team. Dupont and Medrano finished fifth and sixth, respectively, as Dupont blazed the 8K path in 24:39 while his teammate Medrano closed out the test in 24:42.
As the world's elite descended upon Al Bisharat Golf Course on Saturday, the freshmen duet stepped up to the challenge and represented Syracuse University diligently. The American contingent finished in fifth place out of 18 other countries, finishing behind the champion Kenyan team as well as the Ethiopians, Eritreans and Ugandans.
Dupont took 48th place, overall, in a time of 25:52 in the 8K while Medrano concluded his day in 26:18 for 62nd. Dupont finished in front of 69 other competitors while Medrano beat out 55 of the world's select.
Dupont had the fourth best American time while Medrano was sixth on the squad. Ethiopia's Ayele Abshero was the individual champion, finishing four seconds ahead of Kenya's Titus Kipjumba Mbihei with a mark of 23:26.
Team USA's junior and senior women's circuit also finished in fifth place while the senior men wrapped up the competition in eighth.
Two Orange sprinters, senior Ramon Sosa and sophomore transfer Jarret Eaton competed with 566 other Division I track & field athletes at the 2009 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championship hosted by Texas A & M.
Sosa and Eaton were 2-of-14 members who took part in the 60-meter hurdles preliminary race at 4:45 p.m. on Friday.
The Orange pair did not qualify for Saturday’s final as Eaton was clocked at 7.92 and Sosa did not finish the race.
Sosa qualified for the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championship after he broke the school record at the New Balance Collegiate in New York City on Feb. 6 with a second-place, NCAA Provisional time of 7.75.
Eaton's first-place, NCAA Provisional mark of 7.24 on March 8 at the IC4A Indoor Championship in Boston was his ticket to the season culmination.
THREE-FIRST PLACE FINISHES UPHOLD STRONG FINISH WHILE HEATH SMASHES 26-YEAR OLD RECORD
Senior Kyle Heath stamped out a 26-year old record on Saturday afternoon by finishing the 3,000-meter race in 8:00.14, surpassing All-American Jim O'Connell's record of 8:04.80 he set back in 1983. Heath's new standard was at the Alex Wilson Invitational hosted by Notre Dame as a last chance meet. The Farmington, N.Y. native placed sixth in the competition, topping 16 other competitors with his NCAA-Provisional time.
Heath became Syracuse's first All-American distance runner since O'Connell in 1983 after setting the school record in the 3,000m steeplechase with a time of sixth-place time of 8:38.03 at the 2008 Division I Outdoor Track and Field NCAA Championship. Heath claimed second place two weeks ago at the 2009 BIG EAST Indoor Championship with mark of 8:08.31 in the 3K event.
The Orange track & field team enjoyed a great deal of success at the 2009 IC4A/ECAC Championships at Boston as the women tallied 36 points to tie Temple University for third place, matching the best finish at the ECAC Championship under head coach Chris Fox's tutelage. Syracuse bettered 47 other teams from the Northeast by way of two first-place finishes and a second-place showing. The men's eighth-place finish is a 15 spot improvement from last year's T-23rd performance thanks to a first-place showing and three bronze finishes. The Orange men finished better than 42 other squads.
Syracuse was directed by first-place finishes from sophomore transfer Jarret Eaton, second-year sprinter Flings Owusu-Agyapong and junior Uhunoma Osazuwa who wrapped up the women's pentathlon crown in day one of competition.
Eaton gathered his composure in the final race and elicited an SU season-best and NCAA-Provisional qualifying time of 7.24 for the 55-meter hurdles title. Senior hurdler Ramon Sosa finished on the podium with an NCAA-Provisional eligible clip of 7.34 to snag third place.
Owusu-Agyapong earned 10 points for the Orange with her first-place title in the 60-meter dash. The Toronto, Ontario native matched the NCAA-Provisional qualifying time of 7.44 in the final heat for top ECAC honors.
SU's third top performance came in yesterday's pentathlon event as Osazuwa claimed the crown with an NCAA-Provisional point total of 3,748 for 10 more Orange points. Osazuwa picked up one first and three second place finishes paving the way to victory in the five-event marathon. The Las Vegas, Nev. native's top showing came in the high jump with a leap of 1.67m. Her three second-place billings came in the 60-meter hurdles (8.93), shot put (11.33m) and long jump (5.52m). Osazuwa landed in seventh with a time of 2:30.91 in the 800-meter, the final contest of the pentathlon.
Sophomore Katie Hursey rounded out the Orange women's top performances after netting eight points for her second-place accomplishment in the mile with a time of 4:48.49. Hursey's tempo at the ECAC Championship was the fastest indoor time for the women's mile this season.
The 55-meter dash final was covered in Orange as SU was the only team to place three contenders in a short sprinting event. Senior Michael LeBlanc collected the men's second top three finish as he stopped the watch at 6.32 for third place. Sophomore Sham Lewis and senior Antoine Clark each picked up eighth and ninth, respectively, with marks of 6.45 and 6.48.
Senior Skyy Simmons finished his indoor career with the Orange by claiming ninth in the 500-meter finals with a time of 1:03.66.
Turning to the distance portion, junior Curtis Bixler yielded Syracuse's third bronze finish in the 5,000-meter race by turning in a time of 14:17.17.
Sophomore Steve Weeks closed out the 3,000-meter challenge in ninth place to the beat of 8:17.27.
Junior Maegan Krifchin produced a fourth-place time of 2:51.55 in the 1,000-meter run for five Orange points on Sunday.
Aside from Osazuwa, freshman Ieva Staponkute was the Orange's lone competitor in the field. Staponkute made a name for herself in the triple jump by finishing better than 22 others challengers for sixth place with a mark of 12.03m for three points.
In the women's 3,000-meter run, sophomore Catherine DeSarle finished in 11th with a time of 9:46.97 while sophomore Rebekah MacKay and newcomer Carly Hamond recorded 16th and 17th place times of 9:52.79 and 9:55.71, correspondingly.
February 21 & 22, 2009 - BIG EAST Indoor Championship
LeBLANC AND SOSA CROWNED BIG EAST CHAMPS; MEN MATCH BEST TEAM SHOWING IN 16 YEARS
The Orange displayed seven All-BIG EAST performers in the conference culmination. Seniors Ramon Sosa and Michael LeBlanc were Syracuse's two victors with crowns in the 60-meter hurdles and 60-meter dash, respectively, while junior Jon Buice, sophomore Shamel Lewis and senior Kyle Heath enjoyed second-place performances.
Third-year harrier Brad Miller took third in the mile race while sophomore Flings Owusu-Agyapong was SU's lone female to garner all-conference laurels with her third-place time in the 60-meter dash.
Sosa, who set the school record in the 60-meter hurdles at the very same track two weeks ago with a time of 7.75, acquired the Orange's first individual league championship with a first-place, NCAA-Provisional time of 7.87.
LeBlanc, who was paired up with three other Orange to constitute half of the 60-meter dash finals, dusted the competition with an IC4A-qualfying mark of 6.77. LeBlanc set the school record at the 2007 BIG EAST Indoor Championship by reaching the tape in 6.71. Lewis finished five one-hundredths of a second behind his teammate in second place with an IC4A-eligible clip of 6.82. Juniors Daniel Bailey and Antoine Clark rounded out the Orange party with seventh and eighth place finishes, in that order.
Miller picked up all-conference honors with a third-place, IC4A-qualifying time of 4:07.06 in the mile race. Sophomore Erin Schirm was Syracuse's other member in the mile and he attained 11th place with a mark of 4:15.15.
Heath turned in Syracuse's third silver showing with an IC4A-eligible time of 8:08.31 in the 3,000-meter, 0:01.25 seconds behind David McCarthy from Providence.
Buice came within 61 points of claiming the men's heptathlon championship, posting an NCAA-Provisional total of 5,399 points. Buice tallied first-place finishes in the 60-meter dash (7.09), high jump (1.99m) and 60-meter hurdles (8.27) along with a second-place mark of 7.01m in the long jump to aid in his strong performance over the course of two days.
Owusu-Agyapong qualified for the ECAC Championship in two weeks by picking up third place for the Orange with her time of 7.46 in the 60-meter dash. SU's solo female to yield all-conference honors has thrice smashed the 60-meter school record this season, as it currently rests as 7.38. Owusu-Agyapong rattled off a time of 7.43 in the preliminary heat on Saturday.
Junior Uhunoma Osazuwa missed out on BIG EAST merit by one place, finishing fourth in the women's pentathlon. On Saturday, Osazuwa posted an ECAC-qualifying leap of 1.73m in the high jump. Sophomore Kelsey Ruebor, SU's other female contestant in the pentathlon, collected first place in the shot put with a lob of 12.29m.
Junior Maegan Krifchin secured a spot in the 1,000-meter finals on Sunday, as the school record holder in the same event finished in eighth place with an ECAC-qualifying time of 2:54.02.
Freshman Ieva Staponkute notched Syracuse's best mark in the field with a fourth-place, ECAC showing of 12.06m in the women's triple jump.
Senior thrower jumper Bernard Bush picked up sixth place in the men's long jump with an IC4A mark of 7.46 while sophomore hurler Kwaku Boah registered an eighth-place lob of 17.15m to put him in the IC4A meet in two weeks.
KRIFCHIN CAPTURES 1,000-METER CROWN IN BOSTON
Boston University Valentine Invitational
Junior Maegan Krifchin ran away from the 41-man pack for first place in the 1,000-meter race. Four members of the squad chalked up ECAC-qualifying times at BU's Track and Tennis Center. Krifchin, the current 1,000-meter record holder, bolted away from 40 other runners for a first-place, ECAC-qualifying run of 2:55.00.
Sophomore Katie Hursey finished ahead of 119 other competitors in the mile run for a bronze-showing with an ECAC-qualifying tie of 4:51.08. Hursey was just four and a half seconds away from capturing another Syracuse first-place finish.
The remaining three runners took part in the 3,000-meter run as sophomore Rebekah Mackay turned in the best SU mark with a 15th-place, ECAC-qualifying clip of 9:50.52. First-year harrier Heather Stephens qualified for the ECAC Championship with 33-hundreths of a second to spare in 19th place with a time of 9:58.61. Freshman Natalie Busby claimed 22nd out of 120 to the tune of 10:01.13.
Sophomore Erin Schirm put his best foot forward in 1,000-meter race with a sixth-place finish, IC4A-qualifying time of 2:27.49. Schirm's clip was the best time any indoor member has ran in the 1,000-meter as he finished ahead of 74 other competitors on Saturday.
Sophomore Steve Weeks finished in 50th place with a BIG EAST-qualifying mark of 4:18.83 in the mile run. Weeks beat out 127 other harriers in the mile challenge.
Turning to the 3,000-meter run, senior Robbie Cary posted a 43rd place time of 8:38.57 while sophomore Michael Brocks stayed near his teammate the entire run, finishing in 44th just inches behind Cary with a mark of 8:38.89. Cary finished before 121 other runners while Brocks crossed the tape ahead of 120 other challengers.
Binghamton Triangular
The Orange track & field team made its presence felt with 12 first-place finishes, six second-place showings and two third-place performances at the Binghamton Triangular on Friday.
Junior multi-threat Uhunoma Osazuwa came away with three top finishes at the local meet in the 55-meter hurdles, long jump and high jump events. Osazuwa bested 10 other competitors in the 55-meter hurdles race with a season-best time of 8.35. In long jump, Osazuwa exceeded her own mark this season with an ECAC-qualifying leap of 6.00m for first place while the Las Vegas native claimed top billing in the high jump with a BIG EAST-qualifying mark of 1.68m.
Syracuse owned the remainder of the podium in the high hump as junior Melissa Romero turned in a second-place showing of 1.63m while sophomore Priscilla Ilarraza finished in third with the same mark.
Freshman Ieva Staponkute held first-place ground in the triple jump with an ECAC-qualifying mark of 11.94m.
The women's distance contingent dominated the three-way meet as senior Stacie Boyle notched another SU first-place mark with a time of 2:19.98 in the 800-meter race. In the next event, junior Olivia Beane secured the top time in the 1,000-meter run in 3:08.87. In the 3,000-meter race, junior Lisa Giacometti locked up another first-place finish with a time of 10:31.87. Junior Stefanie Slekis rounded out the distance domination with first-place in the 5,000-meter race with a mark of 18:11.05.
Junior Lynne Mundy earned second place in the 3K with a clip of 10:39.54 while freshman Natalee Fisher picked up third in the mile with a time of 5:22.48.
Turning to the men's efforts, senior Bernard Bush claimed two first-place performances in the long jump and triple jump events. Bush busted his season-best with an IC4A-qualfying spring of 7.26m in the long jump and responded with another top finish in the triple jump with a BIG EAST-mark of 13.88m.
Senior Terry Marshall locked up the men's third first-place finish in the 55-meter hurdles with an IC4A-qualifying time of 7.66.
Freshman Kris Kolewe turned out a second-place time of 1:59.76 in the 800-meter race while freshman Ramon Acosta took silver in the 3,000-meter run to the tune of 9:05.46.
Sophomore Nick Damato claimed second in the high jump with a leap of 1.84m while second-year competitor Kwaku Boah finished second in the shotput with a lob of 14.08m.
February 6 & 7, 2008 - Syracuse Invitational | USA XC Championship | New Balance Collegiate | Reebok Indoor Games
SYRAUSE SHINES IN FOUR-MEET MARATHON - ORANGE TO REPRESENT USA AT THE 2009 WORLD CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIP
The Syracuse men's and women's track & field team parted four ways, covering its home base at Manley Field House at the Syracuse Invitational while the remainder of the squad engaged in competitions in Boston, Maryland and New York City.
2009 USA Cross Country Championship
The highlight of the weekend came on Saturday, Feb. 7 at the 2009 USA Cross Country Championships at the Agricultural History Farm Park. Up for grabs at Saturday's 8K "selection event" was a chance to represent the United States at the 2009 IAAF World Cross Country Championship in Amman, Jordan. The top six finishers in the junior men's 8K would qualify for the World Championship at the end of March. In six weeks, the Middle East will have two Orange members of the cross country and track & field team in freshmen Pat Dupont and Tito Medrano represent Syracuse University overseas. Dupont and Medrano finished fifth and sixth, respectively, garnering the chance to wear the Red, White and Blue at the 2009 IAAF World Cross Country Championship. Dupont blazed the 8K path in 24:39 while his teammate Medrano closed out his day in 24:42.
Syracuse Invitational
Back home in the comfy confines of Manley Field House, Syracuse chalked up five first-place finishes, four second-place showings and nine third-place performances. Sophomore Kelsey Ruebor was crowned the pentathlon champion while the women's long jump podium was plastered with a 1-2-3 Orange finish as sophomore Uhunoma Osazuwa set a personal-best with a first-place, ECAC-qualifying just of 5.83m. Sophomore Alison Levchak finished up right behind her classmate in second with a vault of 5.34m while senior Kayla Carter rounded out the top three with a leap of 5.32m. Junior Dan Busby returned to the oval in the men's 3K for a second-place, IC4A-eligible time of 8:20.27. Sophomore Michael Brocks registered a bronze-showing to the beat of 8:42.23. In the field for the men, sophomore Kwaku Boah posted a BIG EAST-qualifying toss of 15.85m for third place.
New Balanace Collegiate
At the New Balance Collegiate at the Armory in New York City, sophomore Flings Owusu-Agyapong broke her own record in the 60-meter dash at the second-straight meet with a new standard and NCAA-Provisional mark of 7.38. Senior hurdler Ramon Sosa returned to prime form, eclipsing his own record in the 60-meter hurdles he set at last year's NCAA Championship. Sosa's old benchmark of 7.78 was outdone on Friday night at the Armory with a second-place, NCAA-Provisional time of 7.75. Sophomore transfer Jarret Eaton nipped at his teammate's heels in the 60-meter hurdles with an NCAA-Provisional clip of 7.87 for fourth place. Senior Skyy Simmons locked up an IC4A bid in the 500-meter with a sixth-place time of 1:03.60. In the preliminaries of the 60-meter dash championship, sophomore Sham Lewis motored for an NCAA-Provisional time of 6.78 while senior Antoine Clark reeled off an NCAA-Provisional and personal best time of 6.79. Senior Mike LeBlanc finished up in sixth place with an NCAA-Provisional time of 6.72, tying his best mark he put forth at Penn State last week.
Reebok Boston Indoor Games
At the Reebok Boston Indoor Games, junior Brad Miller and senior Kyle Heath were two of 10 privileged athletes to run with the nation's elite at the Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center in Boston. Miller, Syracuse's indoor mile record holder (4:00.19), and Heath, the previous runner to set the mile standard, competed in the collegiate stratum of the mile run. Heath turned out an NCAA-Provisional fifth-place time of 4:02.92 while Miller came in 10th with an IC4A-eligible clip of 4:13.79.
January 30-31, 2009 – Penn State National Open
FLINGS OWUSU-AGYAPONG AND JON BUICE RESET ORANGE STANDARDS IN HAPPY VALLEY
Penn State National Open
Speedy sophomore Flings Owusu-Agyapong thrice broke the Syracuse school record in the 60-meter dash in the prelims, semi-finals and final rounds. Owusu-Agyapong was bolted in a three-way first-place tie with her ECAC-qualifying clip of 7.47. The Toronto, Ontario Native bested her own time in the semi-final heat with an NCAA Provisional-qualifying mark and new-school record of 7.42, qualifying her for the eight-man final test. Owusu-Agyapong provided the Orange with a third-place finish in the 60-meter dash with an NCAA Provisional-qualifying run of 7.43.
Junior Jon Buice was the toast of Happy Valley in the heptathlon, not only taking first place, but resetting his old mark of last year for a new Orange school record. Buice's 5,259 points is a new Syracuse standard in the men's indoor heptathlon; the old benchmark was his own score he set last season with 5,068 points.
In his first race back in more than a year, sprinter Mike LeBlanc put up a good fight against the nation's elite in the 60-meter dash. LeBlanc finished second in the prelims with an IC4A-qualifying time of 6.77 and then one-upped himself in the semis with an NCAA Provisional-qualifying mark of 6.73. LeBlanc made the grade for the final heat, missing the first-place crown by a mere seven one-thousandth of a second. The Riverview, New Brunswick native busted out an NCAA Provisional-qualifying time of 6.72 for second place.
Sophomore Sham Lewis also took part in the 60-meter race and earned a spot in the last leg, finishing in sixth place with an IC4A-qualifying time of 6.79.
Sophomore Jarret Eaton continues to make his presence felt on the track & field scene with a second-place, NCAA Provisional-qualifying beat of 7.87 in the 60-meter hurdles. Eaton's best time came in the semi-final stage with a time of 7.85, berthing him into the eight-man final. Senior Terry Marshall will be traveling to the BIG EAST Championship with his two times of 8.19 and 8.30 in the prelims and semis, respectively.
Freshman Karelle Edwards broke off a personal best in the 60-meter hurdles event with an ECAC-qualifying time of 8.76 in the preliminaries.
Turning to the distance events, sophomore Steve Weeks became IC4A-eligible in the 5,000-meter race with a seventh-place mark of 14:36.36. Second-year harrier Rebekah Mackay finished in 13th with a time of 17:43.03 in the 5K.
In the field, senior Bernard Bush placed 14th in the long jump with a BIG EAST-qualifying leap of 6.91m. Sophomore Victor Nwosu generated a 24th-place showing with a spring of 6.39m.
In the 35-lbs. weight throw, sophomore Kwaku Boah met BIG EAST criteria with a 24th-place showing of 15.59m.
Sophomore Uhunoma Osazuwa finished in eighth place with 3,504 points in the pentathlon after Friday's events. Osazuwa finished second in the high jump with a mark of 1.67m for her best showing of the day.
Second-year harriers Katie Hursey and Catherine DeSarle painted the top of the 3,000-meter run Orange, finishing first and second, in that order, with ECAC-appropriate times of 9:47.14 and 9:50.42. Both marks top the SU charts for the two fastest times in the 3K thus far.
Senior Kyle Heath, SU's first All-American distance runner since Jim O'Connell in 1983, returned to prime form in his first race of 2009 with a swift rate of 4:01.47, good enough for third place and an NCAA Provisional-qualifying bid.
Sophomore Erin Schirm qualified for his first BIG EAST Indoor Track & Field Championship with a 15th place clip of 4:15.98 in the mile.
Senior Lauren McClenney rounded out a speedy third-place finish with a BIG EAST-qualifying time of 1:15.83 in the 500-meter event; Syracuse's fastest time in that race this season.
In the men's 3,000-meter run, junior Jay Koloseus made the IC4A grade with a sixth-place finish of 8:16.59 while junior Curtis Bixler came in 14th with a time of 8:34.45.
Turning to the women's field events, junior Melissa Romero finished in a three-way tie for fifth place with a BIG EAST-qualifying mark of 1.68m in the high jump. Junior Annabelle Pellerin churned out a measurement of 1.63m for a two-way tie in eighth.
Senior Mike Chitro leaped 6'6.25 (1.99m) for second place in the high jump cleared the 60m hurdles race in 8.62 for eighth. Also in the field, sophomore Victor Nwosu placed third in the long jump with a mark of 22'1.5 (6.74m) while sophomore Kwaku Boah, also a member of the Syracuse football team, turned out a seventh place finish with a launch of 53'2.75 (16.22m) in the weight throw event.
Aside from the four first-place marks, the women fought hard the rest of the day. Sophomores Lareea Chisolm and Samantha Haughton sprinted well for the Orange as Chisolm tallied a fourth place mark of 7.81 in the 60 meter dash while Haughton posted a 10th place finish in the 300 meter run with a clip of 43.41.
The distance team, fresh off its most successful cross country campaign in school history with its first trip the Division I NCAA Cross Country Championship this fall, had four more top 10 finishes in the 5K alongside Busby's crown. Sophomore Liz McCarter registered a third-place finish with a time of 18:05.40 while juniors Lynne Mundy and Lisa Giacometti closed out their day in fifth and sixth, respectively with marks of 18:33.45 and 18:44.90. Sophomore Tricia Wardwell and senior Emily Goncalves supplemented the Orange with runs of 19:25.03 and 19:47.08 for eighth and 11th place finishes.
In the field, junior Melissa Romero claimed second in the high jump with a spring of 5'5 (1.65m) whereas sophomore Priscilla Ilarrasa completed the event two spots behind Romero in fourth with a 5'1 (1.55m) jump.
In addition to her best time in the 60m hurdles, Osazuwa obtained second place in the long jump with a vault of 18'.0.25 (5.49m). Senior Kayla Carter finished in fifth in the same event with a leap of 17'6 (5.33m). Carter concluded the triple jump in fourth place with a measure of 36'10.5 (11.24m).
January 24, 2009 - BU Terrier Invitational and Cornell Upstate Challenge
MILLER'S THE MAN! BRAD MILLER BREAKS SYRACUSE RECORD IN MILE RACE
Boston University's Terrier Invitational
Junior Brad Miller, member of 2008 Division I Northeast Region USTFCCCA All-Region Team in cross country, set out in the men's mile race against 131 contenders. Miller not only claimed first place in the field with an NCAA-Automatic qualifying time, he broke the Syracuse University indoor mile record with a mark of 4:00.19, surpassing Kyle Heath record of 4:01.68 from last season. Just 19 hundredths of a second barred Miller from breaking the elusive four-minute mile in a dominating performance against some of the Northeast's top competition.
Sophomore Erin Schirm offered an IC4A-qualfiying time of 4:12.22 in the mile, overcoming 115 other challengers for 17th place.
Juniors Jay Koloseus and Curtis Bixler put forth respectable showings in the 5,000-meter race, finishing fourth and fifth, in that order. Koloseus busted out an IC4A-qualfying time of 14:15.25 for a fourth place finish while his counterpart finished one slot behind in fifth with an IC4A-qualfying time of 14:18.03.
Sophomore Katie Hursey looped the 3,000-meter run with an ECAC-qualifying clip of 9:56.50 for 17th place out of 68 entrants. Freshman Carly Hamond got her feet wet in the same race, finishing up with a BIG EAST-qualifying time of 10:01.41 for 20th place.
Turning to the women's 5,000-meter run, sophomore Catherine DeSarle rounded out an eighth-place posting with an ECAC-qualifying run of 16:57.32. Newcomer Natalie Busby closed the 5,000-meter race in ECAC-qualifying fashion, too, picking up 11th place for the Orange.
Cornell Upstate Challenge
Both the Syracuse men's and women's track & field teams claimed third place at the Cornell Upstate Challenge on Saturday, January 24. The Orange was powered by two first-place titles and three second-place finishes at Cornell's Barton Hall.
Junior Annabelle Pellerin led the charge for Syracuse in the high jump, helping blanket the top three spots with a BIG EAST-qualifying leap of 1.68m for first place and 10 points. Freshman Karelle Edwards notched second place for the Orange with an ECAC-qualifying mark of 8.94 in the 60-meter hurdles. of 9.09. Junior Uhunoma Osazuwa rounded out a seventh-place time of 9.55. Sophomore Kelsey Rubeor finished in second in the pentathlon with a 3,193 points total. Sophomore Priscilla Ilarrasa put together 2,636 points for fifth.
Turning to the men, senior Bernard Bush knocked down first place in the long jump, along with 10 Orange points, with an IC4A-qualifying leap of 7.02m. Junior Jon Buice earned four points in fourth with a jump of 6.65m.
Newcomer Matthew Callanan finished in second place in the 60-meter hurdles for eight points with a BIG EAST-qualifying time of 8.37.
Sophomore Victor Nwosu finished in fifth in the triple jump with a mark of 12.96m and two points. Freshman Kris Kolewe notched a point in the 500-meter race with a sixth-place stroll of 1:07.92. Kolewe was the first member for SU to participate in the 500-meter run this season.
Senior Robbie Cary, sophomore Mike Brocks and freshman Patrick Geoghegan finished third, fourth and fifth, in that order, with times of 8:43.09, 8:44.86 and 9:03.25. Their times harvested points of six, four and two.
January 16, 2009 - SU Welcome Back
SYRACUSE STARTS OFF STRONG AT SU WELCOME BACK INVITE
The Syracuse women's track & field team took down 10 first-place titles, including all six field events, and eight second-place showings while the men yielded five event crowns and three runner-up finishes in the friendly confines of Manley Field House hosted by Syracuse University on Friday afternoon.
Junior Monica Ridgeway paced the Orange with two first-place victories while the rest of the SU women flashed their versatility with eight top marks all by different individuals. The men reflected the women's winning ways by churning out six different first-place winners of their own on Friday.
Right from the get-go, sophomore Flings Owusu-Agyapong set a new school record in the 55-meter dash with a time of 7.00 for the win while second-year sprinter Lareea Chisolm finished up in second with an ECAC-qualifying clip of 7.15. Sophomore LaTimberly Johnson was pegged fifth after topping out at 7.64.
Chisolm stormed back in the 200-meter dash with a BIG EAST-qualifying time of 25.26 for top billing.
In the 55-meter hurdles, newcomer Karelle Edwards dusted the field for a first-place clip of 8.40. Sophomore Kelsey Reubor was right on Edwards' heels in second place with a time of 9.32.
Senior Lauren McClenney motored around the familiar Manley Field House surface for a first-place performance in the 500-meter dash to the tune of 1:16.42 which is good enough for a BIG EAST-qualifying pace. Senior Stacie Boyle collected third in the same race with a time of 1:19.47. Boyle picked up a second-place prize in the 800-meter by concluding the four-lap race in 2:23.45 Junior Deanna Schmitt claimed third in the 800-meter with a rate of 2:24.18.
Junior distance runner Lisa Giacometti generated the Orange's quickest time in the mile with a third-place time of 5:22.72. Senior Emily Goncalves finished eighth in 5:34.44.
In the women's 3K event, freshman Natalee Fisher wrapped up in ninth place after crossing the line in 10:47.01.
Ridgeway's two triumphs came in the shot put and weight throw events. Ridgeway's lob of 12.50m in the shot put produced another win for the Orange. The third-year thrower doubled up in the wins category after heaving the 20-lb. weight for a measurement of 13.38m.
Junior Annabelle Pellerin, also an outside hitter on the SU volleyball team, bested her mark from December's Cornell Relays with a first-place, BIG EAST-qualifying leap of 1.65m. Freshman Danielle Sherwood vanquished the rest of the pole vaulting field with a spring of 3.15m. Junior Uhunoma Osazuwa squeezed out a first-place victory in the long jump against two of her teammates with a jump of 5.33m. In the triple jump, senior Christina Connolly put forth a winning combination of 11.07m.
Turning to the men's side, freshman Kris Kolewe rounded out the 800-meter run with a first-place time of 1:59.78. Junior Matt Martina repeated Kolewe's winning ways with a victory of his own in the mile run with a 4:30.46. In the 3,000-meter run, sophomore Michael Brocks outlasted 15 other competitors for a third-place tabbing with a time of 8:49.47.
In the 55-meter hurdles, sophomore transfer Jarret Eaton put on a nice second-place show in his SU debut with an NCAA Provisional-qualifying mark of 7.31. Freshman Matthew Callanan also made his first appearance for the Orange at Manley Field House with a third-place time of 7.81 in the same event.
In the 1,600-meter relay, the Orange captured first place as freshman David Dubin, sophomore Da'Mon Merkerson (also a member of the SU football team), and seniors Terry Marshall and Skyy Simmons joined forces for a time of 3:24.32.
Junior Eric Cleckner beat out Cortland State's Nick Wilson for first place in the high jump with a leap of 1.86m.
Senior Bernard Bush took home the long jump crown with an IC4A-qualfying vault of 7.04m. Sophomore Victor Nwosu's 6.49m mark was good enough for second.
Sophomore Kwaku Boah, also a member of the Orange football team, tossed 14.62m in the shot put for first place and a second place, BIG EAST-qualifying lob of 15.86m with the 35-lb. weight.
December 5, 2008 - Cornell Relays
FOUR SYRACUSE WOMEN PRODUCE FIRST-PLACE FINISHES IN SEASON OPENER
The Syracuse women collected four first-place finishes in the 2008-09 indoor track & field season opener at the Cornell Relays on Saturday afternoon. Freshman Natalie Busby posted the best time in the 5K run by navigating the track in 17:53.67. Juniors Uhunoma Osazuwa and Annabelle Pellerin were each awarded top-billing in the 60m hurdles and high jump competitions, respectively. Osazuwa dusted the competition in 9.00 seconds flat while Pellerin, also a member of the Orange volleyball team, cleared 5'6 (1.68m) in the high jump. Sophomore Kelsey Rubeor represented SU in the field, picking up first place in the shot put with a heave of 38'10.5 (11.85 m).
On the men's side, the Orange picked up where it left off in the cross country season. Five members of the Syracuse track & field team generated top 10 finishes in the 5K event. Junior Erin Schirm emerged first for SU in 15:08.33 for second place. Senior Robbie Cary turned out a time of 15:33.57 for third place while second-year member Mike Brocks finished directly behind Cary in 15:41.92. Sophomore Brady Becker and freshman Roman Acosta rounded out the top positions with times of 15:43.69 and 15:44.79, in that order, for sixth and seventh place.
