TOWSON, Md. --- The Moravian University men's and women's outdoor track & field teams had a total of ten student-athletes earn All-Conference accolades for their performances at the 2022 Landmark Conference Outdoor Championships last weekend at Juniata College.
Head Coach Jesse Baumann and his staff of assistants Jonathan D'Ottavio (throws), Dan McSurdy (hurdles and sprints), Sarah Hughes (distance), Rob Shaffer (sprints and hurdles), Chris Ossont (jumps) and Beth Ann Davis (pole vault) were selected as the Women's Coaching Staff of the Year.
"Jesse and his assistant coach did another outstanding job this year with both of our track programs," commented Director of Athletics Mary Beth Spirk. "They always find a way to put their athletes in positions to compete at their highest level and winning another championship for the women. Jesse's positive influence on his staff and student-athletes is quite evident. Moravian is fortunate to have Jesse as the leader of our track and cross country programs. Congratulations on receiving another well-deserved Landmark Coaching Staff of the Year honor."
The women's squad won its 14th conference outdoor title this past Sunday, and the Hounds have won the meet every year that the Landmark Conference has hosted it. The Greyhounds had six student-athletes garner ten All-Conference nods. Leading the group was junior Crystal Robinson, who was selected as the Female Track Athlete of the Year after winning the 200-meter dash and the 4x100-meter relay, placing second in the 100-meter dash and helping the 4x400-meter relay take third in the crucial final race to win the title.
"Crystal had as difficult of a day as you can have in track and field by racing five events within five hours," stated Director of Track & Field and Cross Country Jesse Baumann. "The 100m final is only 15 minutes after the 400m dash and for people who have tried it before, it's often proven to be nearly impossible to run effectively. However, Crystal is just as competitive as she is talented and despite how tough that double is, she willed herself to a 2nd place finish to teammate Helen Davis. All five of her races were exceptional but that two-race sequence in such a short window of time is what best describes her day. In the end, she was a part of nearly a quarter of the points scored for the team. She's firing on all cylinders right now and we're excited to see what she can do over the next few weeks of our season."
The women had four other First Team honorees with junior Helen Davis winning the 100-meter dash and sophomore Lexi Groff capturing the high jump for the second straight year. Davis and Robinson combined with freshmen Abby Giamoni and Racquel Ramey to win the 4x100-meter relay in a meet record time.
The team also had two additional Second Team selections with Giamoni as the runner-up in the 200-meter dash and junior Delany Wiseman taking second in the javelin.
The men's squad, which finished third at the Landmark Championships, had four student-athletes earn six All-Conference honors. Leading the Hounds with individual Landmark All-Conference First Team honors was graduate student Shane Mastro, who was named the Male Field Athlete of the Year after winning the shot put for the third straight championship as well as the discus, and he was second in the hammer throw.
"The only thing that kept Shane from sweeping three conference titles this weekend was a school and conference record from his teammate, Dan Jenkins, in the weight throw," noted Baumann. "Clearly you want to be peaking at the end of the season and Shane managed to have his second-best discus and hammer throw of the season and had a long-awaited breakthrough in the shot put that raised him up in the NCAA rankings. Shane is exceptionally reliable and steady which is something you need in these meets not only for team points, but as someone younger athletes can look up to in stressful moments like at a conference championship. We're extremely happy that Shane was able to be recognized for the way he's stood out in our conference this entire season and during this meet. Now we're hoping he has more in him as we try a few more chances to get him qualified for the NCAAs!"
The Hounds had one other First Team selection with junior Dan Jenkins taking first in the hammer throw for the second straight year with a school, conference and meet record.
The Greyhounds had two Second Team honores with runner-up finishes at the championship meet with senior Shane Houghton taking second in the 3,000-meter steeplechase and freshman Nathan Hajel placing second in the 10,000-meter run.
To view the entire 2022 Landmark All-Conference Women's Track & Field Team, visit https://landmark.prestosports.com/sports/track/2021-22/releases/17092022-women-outdoor-track-awards.
To view the entire 2022 Landmark All-Conference Men's Track & Field Team, visit https://landmark.prestosports.com/sports/track/2021-22/releases/17092022-men-outdoor-track-awards.
