TOWSON, Md. --- The 2016-17 season marks the 10-year anniversary for the Landmark Conference. As part of the buildup to each sport's championship season, fans were asked to select their favorite moment from the first decade from a list created by members of the conference. Each winning moment will be announced prior to the conference championship.
After the final round of voting, Moravian's sweep of the 2008 Landmark Conference Indoor Championships in the first year of conference competition received 48 percent of the votes for the men and 54 percent for the women to win the top moment.
On the men's side, Susquehanna's 2009 championship title came in second with 30 percent of the votes, followed by Moravian's Ozzie Brown winning the NCAA Long Jump Championship in third with 21 percent. On the women's side, Ashley West from Susquehanna winning the Mile and 800-meter run fur consecutive years earned 24 percent of the votes to come in second while Moravian's Anna Heim and Abigail Shaffer winning the NCAA Pole Vault titles in back-to-back years was third with 20 percent.
The championships started a string of wins for the Greyhounds with the women's program capturing the first nine Landmark titles, and the men's team winning eight of nine titles and the last seven in a row heading into the 2017 Championships. The 2008 titles also came just four months after long-time Head Coach Doug Pollard passed away shortly after the teams began practice for the season. Pollard had served as head coach of the men's and women's track and field teams since the sport was re-introduced in 1984. He guided over 150 student-athletes to appearances at the NCAA Division III indoor and outdoor national championships, with 69 earning All-American accolades. Walt Wandall took over as the interim coach and he and the rest of the coaching staff that included Jared Anderson, Louis Corominas, Tyler Jones, Mike Lawryk and Welles Lobb was named both the Men's and Women's Landmark Conference Coaching Staff of the Year.
For the women, freshman Sydni Wisniewski was named the Landmark Conference Female Track Athlete of the Meet after winning the 200-meter dash in a time of 26.38 seconds and 400-meter dash in a time of 58.76 seconds. Wisniewski joined up with sophomores Rachel Beck, Jessica Posimo and Symonne Scott to win the 4x200-meter relay in a school record time of 1:45.49 and then with Beck, Posimo and sophomore Katelyn Chando in the 4x400-meter relay team for a first place finish in 4:06.93 seconds.
There were six other individual champions at the meet with Posimo winning the 55-meter hurdles in a time of 8.79 seconds, the long jump with a leap of 5.29 meters (17-4.25) and the triple jump with a distance of 10.59 meters (34-9), Beck captured the 55-meter dash at a time of 7.44 seconds, sophomore Anna Heim won the pole vault with a height of 3.19 meters (10-5.5) and sophomore Flora Robertson got first place in the 20-pound weight throw with a heave of 14.34 meters (47-0.75). All of the champions earned Landmark All-Conference First Team honors for their first place finishes.
Moravian had six individuals and a relay team earn Landmark All-Conference Second Team accolades with second place finishes in their events. Wisniewski was the runner-up in the 55-meter dash in a time of 7.45 seconds while Beck placed second in the 200-meter dash in a time of 26.79 seconds. Junior Kayla Teeling turned in a pair of runner-up finishes taking second in the mile run on 5:23.33 and in the 800-meter run in 2:26.08. Sophomore Rachel Riggs was second in the triple jump in a distance of 10.55 meters (34-7.5) while Robertson placed second in the shot put with a toss of 10.17 meters (33-4.5). The Greyhounds 4x800-meter relay squad of Teeling, junior Stephanie Miller and freshmen Kristen Labert and Kaleen Holden finished second in 10:30.19.
For the men at the 2008 Landmark Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships, junior Ozzie Brown, freshman Eric Woodruff, junior Jared Henrie and freshman Warner Jones won the 4x400-meter relay in a time of 3:28.66. Brown joined with senior James Bell, junior Robert Shaffer and Woodruff to win the 4x200-meter relay in an ECAC qualifying time of 1:31.43. Junior Blair Maginnis captured the 35-pound weight throw with an ECAC qualifying toss of 15.50 meters (50-10.25) and the shot put with a distance of 15.08 meters (49-5.75) and sophomore Mike Blenk won the triple jump with a distance of 13.53 meters (44-4.75). All of the champions earned Landmark All-Conference First Team honors for their first place finishes.
Moravian had three other individuals and a relay team earn Landmark All-Conference Second Team accolades with second place finishes in their events. Shaffer placed second in the 55-meter dash in 6.61 seconds while Woodruff was the runner-up in the 200-meter dash in a time of 22.61 seconds. Junior Alan Woods was tied for second in the pole vault, clearing a height of 4.40 meters (14-5.75) while Henrie, juniors Jeremiah Reinhart and Jacob Tazik and freshman Connor Skutches finished second in the 4,000-meter distance medley relay in a time of 10:50.17.
