Indoor Track Team has Groundbreaking Day at NJAC Championships
New York, N.Y. - The men's and women's indoor track & field teams competed at the highly competitive NJAC Championships held at the New Balance Track & Field Center which included many excellent Golden Eagle performances and new St. Joseph's College records being set.
The men were led by top scorers Mario Mayen and Brian Wersan. Mayen, running the 400 meters looking for an ECAC qualifying time, came from the second of six sections to place 6th and miss the qualifier by only eleven-hundredths of a second. Brian Wersan, after getting boxed out at the start and then tripped during his 800m race, was still able to grab a third place finish with a school record time of 1:57.73.
Both were then joined by Jon Afanador and Kevin Sanders to place first in the 4 x 800 meter relay. Afanador after taking the lead in the race, handed off in second place to Mayen. Mayen, running in only the second 800 of his career, maintained his position with only Rowan University coming to take over first place. Sanders, running in third position most of the race, was able to pass Richard Stockton College and hand off in second place. Brian Wersan was then handed the baton and settled in behind Richard Stockton with Rowan ahead by 25 meters. With one lap to go Wersan shifted gears and not only passed Stockton, but into the final straight away, passed Rowan to win in dramatic fashion with Stockton and Rowan at his heals. This win is the first win St Joseph's has had since they joined the NJAC and also shattered the previous school record by nearly ten seconds.
John Suchopar, Erik Haughn, Tim Elgort, and Rich Schimmel combined to complete the scoring for the men in the DMR placing 7th.
On the women's side, an SJC record was broken by freshman Ashley Arquer in the 200 meters with a time of 27.51, breaking the previous mark by only .06. The women's scoring came in the relays with the 4 x 400 relay of Siobhan O'Gorman, Kelly Roberts Samantha Baculy, and Jenna Pearsall placing 8th; the 4 x 200 of Ashley Arquer, Kelly Ingarra, Samantha Baculy, and Mary Cipriano placing 5th; along with the 4 x 800 relay team of Brittany Guttierri, AnnMarie Zigrosser, Kristina Schrepf, and Mary Cipriano combining to also place 5th.
Jenna Pearsall, Samantha Maurice, Lauren Waka, and Megan Lavery combined to place highest for the women in 4th and missed a school record by three seconds in the DMR.
This was the last team meet for the indoor season for the Eagles who will start the outdoor season Monday.
Brian Wersan will continue in the indoor season as he competes in the 800 meters on Saturday at the ECAC Championships.
