NEW YORK, NY --- Moravian College has qualified 17 student-athletes, nine females and eight males, to compete at the 2012 Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference Division III Indoor Track & Field Championships hosted by Rutgers University-Newark at the New Balance Armory in New York City on Friday, March 2nd and Saturday, March 3rd.
The Moravian women were tied for 13th last year, and the women were the ECAC runner-up in 2009 and captured the title in 2008. The Moravian men placed 14th at the ECAC meet a year ago and were the runner-up in 2008. Both teams are coming off of Landmark Conference Championships last weekend, the fifth straight for the women and fourth for the men in the five years of the conference.
On the women's side, senior Lisa Williamson (Sinking Spring, PA/Wilson West Lawn HS) will be competing in three events for the Greyhounds. Williamson is qualified in the 60-meter dash in a time of 8.10 seconds and the 200-meter dash in 26.69 seconds, and is part of Moravian's 4x200-meter relay team with freshmen Brielle Sutter (Saddle Brook, N.J./Saddle Brook HS), Morgan Redmond (Kinnelon, N.J./Kinnelon HS) and Brianna Wright (Shillington, Pa./Governor Mifflin HS) that qualified with a time of 1:48.98.
Sutter will also be competing in the 200-meter dash after a qualifying time of 26.75 seconds, and she is entered in the 400-meter dash with a time of 59.75 seconds.
In the field events, junior Micah Leonard (York, Pa./William Penn HS) will participate in the triple jump with a qualifying distance 11.41 meters (37 feet, 5 ¼ inches) and the long jump after a qualifying leap of 5.52 meters (18 feet, 1 ½ inches). Sophomore Allison Vanek (Riegelsville, Pa./Wilson HS) will also be competing in the long jump after a mark of 5.29 meters (17 feet, 4 ¼ inches).
Senior Abby Schaffer (Easton, PA/Easton HS) was the runner-up in the pole vault last year, and she won the event competing for Widener University in 2010. Schaffer, who leads four Moravian student-athletes in the event, is tied for the top qualifying height of 4.01 meters (13 feet, 1 ¾ inches). Vanek has a qualifying height of 3.59 meters (11 feet, 9 ¼ inches), and freshmen Hailey Kester (Allentown, Pa./Salisbury HS) and Dana Fineman (Flemington, N.J./Hunterdon Central HS) will also compete in the pole vault after qualifying heights of 3.36 meters (11 feet. ¼ inch) and 3.20 meters (ten feet, six inches), respectively.
On the men's side, five of Moravian's eight qualifiers will compete in multiple events. Junior Donald Noble (Souderton, Pa./Souderton HS), senior Matthew Lutcza (Dingmans Ferry, Pa./Delaware Valley HS) and freshman Dillon Farrell (North Wales, Pa./Wissahickon HS) will each compete in the mile run and the 5,000-meter run. Noble has qualifying times of 4:18.21 and 14:41.50 while Lutcza's marks are 4:20.50 and 14:45.88. Farrell has times of 4:21.77 in the mile and 15:13.33 in the 5,000-meter run.
Senior Nicco Dalpiaz (Sunbury, Pa./Shikellamy HS) is qualified in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.50 seconds and the pole vault after clearing 4.60 meters (15 feet, one inch). Sophomore Kristopher Joint (Bethlehem, Pa./Parkland HS) will compete in both the long jump and triple jump after qualifying marks of 6.71 meters (22 feet, ¼ inch) in the long jump and 13.99 meters (45 feet, 10 ¾ inches) in the triple jump.
Senior Steve Ambrosi (Parsippany, N.J./Parsippany Hills HS) will compete in the 800-meter run after qualifying in 1:53.34.
Off the track, senior Timothy Layng (Canton, Pa./Canton HS) will compete in the pole vault after qualifying at 4.96 meters (16 feet, 3 ¼ inches), the third best qualifying height, while junior Travis King (Wilmington, Del./Concord HS) is in the field in the triple jump with a qualifying leap of 13.92 meters (45 feet, eight inches).