TOWSON, Md. --- The Moravian College men's and women's outdoor track & field teams have had a total of 26 student-athletes honored by the Landmark Conference for their performances at the 2018 Landmark Outdoor Championships last weekend at Elizabethtown College.
Head Coach Jesse Baumann and his staff of assistants Jonathan D'Ottavio (throws), Bob Luciano (javelin), Steve Rahn (sprints/hurdles), Michael El Kazzaz (pole vault), Bill Ferguson (jumps) and Sarah Werner (sprints) were selected as both the men's and women's Coaching Staffs of the Year.
The men's squad, which captured its fourth consecutive and tenth overall Landmark Conference outdoor title, had 14 student-athletes earn 22 All-Conference honors. Leading the Hounds with individual Landmark All-Conference First Team honors was freshman Zion Howard, who was named the Male Rookie of the Year after winning both the 100 and 200-meter dashes and earning All-Conference Second Team honors in the 4x100 and 4x400-meter relays.
"Zion was his usual steady self and was a huge contributor for our team," stated Baumann. "He didn't have the best start in the 100m final but he used his top end speed and competitiveness to secure the win. In both relays he put us in a great spot to score large points and even split a low 50 after a very busy Sunday in the 4x400. In the 200m he powered away and had things in control before he exited the turn and overall contributed 36 points to the team. He has a big future in front of him and we're hoping for some big performances to come over the next few weeks."
The Hounds had one other multiple First Team honoree with junior John Spirk winning the 110-meter high hurdles and 400-meter hurdles for the third straight year, and Spirk was also on the All-Conference Second Team in the 4x400-meter relay along with Howard, senior Andrew Mitchell and freshman Sean McFarland. Moravian had four other First Team honorees with senior Robert Condo capturing the javelin for the second consecutive championship meet, junior Scott Goodwin winning the pole vault for the second straight year, sophomore Ryan Harper capturing the shot put for the second consecutive season and sophomore Justin Beasley-Turner winning the 800-meter run.
The Greyhounds had 14 Second Team selections with runner-up finishes at the championship meet including three by sophomore Greg Jaindl, who was second in the 1,500-meter run, the 3,000-meter steeplechase and the 5,000-meter run. Harper was second in the hammer throw while Howard was joined by juniors Chris Antoine and Brian Stock and senior Eric Morton in the 4x100-meter relay. Sophomore Roland Cash was second in the triple jump while freshman Michael Elo was the runner-up in the long jump.
The women's squad won its 11th straight conference outdoor title by 105 points this past Sunday. The Greyhounds had 13 student-athletes garner 25 All-Conference nods.
Junior Anna Osman won the 400-meter dash and the 400-meter hurdles for the third straight year to go with runner-up finishes in the 100-meter hurdles and the 4x400-meter relay as she was named as the Landmark Conference Female Track Athlete of the Year.
"Anna approached the coaches about trying an incredible work load this weekend, so I give her a ton of credit for being willing to subject herself to such a challenging weekend for the sake of the team," commented Baumann. "On day one, we had a feeling she was ready for something big with some surprising performances in the hurdles and 100m, then she followed it up with an incredible day on Sunday contributing an astounding 37 points to our team."
Senior Trista Cunningham captured the discus for the third straight year, and she also won the shot put and was the runner-up in the hammer throw to earn Landmark Conference Field Athlete of the Year honors.
"I was talking to Women's Basketball Coach Mary Beth Spirk earlier this week about what a tremendous asset Trista is to both programs as a leader, positive influence, and of course a great athlete so we're happy to see her end her conference career this way and be recognized for the impact she's had," Baumann said. "She had a conference-record toss in the discus, a huge breakthrough in the shot put, and was her usual steady self in the hammer throw to contribute an astounding 28 points to our team. Her season isn't done, we're working to get her to NCAAs in Wisconsin over the next few weeks so we're hoping she can cap off her career in epic fashion."
Freshman Aimee Badman took home three First Team honors with victories in the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes and in the 4x100-meter relay with juniors Jordan Luciano and Amari Schooler and freshman Camaryn Wheeler. Luciano also earned First Team honors with a win in the long jump while Schooler captured the 100-meter hurdles and Wheeler joined with Osman and sophomore Carly Danoski and freshman Morgan Weaver to finish second in the 4x400-meter relay.
Danoski was the champion in the 800-meter run and second in the 1,500-meter run while senior Sarah Hughes won the 5,000-meter run to earn First Team honors. Senior Beth Ann Davies took first in the pole vault for the third straight year while senior Mary Kate Duncan won the javelin and freshman Martha Thorpe captured the title in the triple jump.
Senior Casie Cronk was the runner-up in the high jump for Second Team honors.
Moravian is slated to return to action on Monday, May 14 at the Swarthmore College Last Chance Qualifier beginning at 4:00 p.m.