NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. (Apr. 25) – It was a productive day for the Waynesburg men’s and women’s track and field teams as they traveled to Westminster College to compete in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC) Championships on Saturday.
The Jacket women crowned five individual champions and boasted a total of 13 All-PAC picks as they tied for second with 123 team points. The Waynesburg men picked up five All-PAC honorees en route to a fourth place team finish (59 points).
The women’s top track athlete was senior distance runner Megan Grover, who took first place in both the 5,000 and 10,000-meter runs. The Colorado native won each race in impressive fashion, crossing the finish line in 18:44.13, more than a minute ahead of the second-place finisher, and posting a time of 41:20.58 in the 10,000 meters, better than four minutes ahead of the second-place racer.
Moving to the field events, the Jackets swept the top three spots in the javelin, with All-American Elisha Jones taking first place with a new meet-record throw of 42.29 meters (138 feet, 9 inches). The toss also set a new school record.
Freshman Marybeth Rocco and senior Amanda Staudt placed second and third, respectively.
Another Waynesburg record was set when freshman Carly Schubert placed second in the shot put with a toss of 12 meters (39 feet, 4.5 inches).
Freshman Krystal Baker added another win in the triple jump to what has been an impressive first season. She posted a school-record distance of 11.56 meters (37 feet, 11 inches) to take the victory. She also set a new school record in the high jump after placing second with a height of 1.58 meters (5 feet. 2.25 inches).
The Jackets’ fifth victory of the day came courtesy of senior pole vaulter Ashley Dodd. The Pittsburgh native set a new PAC Championship record in the event with a height of 3.60 meters (11 feet, 9.75 inches).
The Waynesburg men also saw parts of their record book rewritten by their five All-PAC honorees.
Sophomore Adam Swingle set a new school-best time in the 3,000-meter steeplechase after finishing second in the event (10:29.04). Sophomore Trale Merz also set a new record in the 400-meter hurdles after finishing the race in 56.53 seconds.
While the Waynesburg athletes earned their share of individual accolades, their coach picked up the Jackets’ biggest honor, as fifth-year head man Jason Falvo was named PAC Women’s Track & Field Coach of the Year.
Both the Grove City men and the Westminster women successful defended their 2008 conference track titles.
For a complete look at the results from this year’s PAC Track & Field Championships, click here.
The Jacket men and women are scheduled to return to action on May 8, when they head to Allegheny College.