March 19, 2007
Complete Shamrock Invitational Results
CONWAY, S.C. - (www.lafayette.edu) - With much of the Northeast being blanketed by a winter storm, the Lafayette track and field team ventured south for its annual spring break trip to compete against many of the nation's top track and field athletes in the Shamrock Invitational at Coastal Carolina University. Junior Emily Cholak was victorious in the women's triple jump, while classmate Alex Wechsler turned in a second place performance in the 3000 meter steeplechase.
Cholak, the defending Patriot League champion in the triple jump, leaped 38'4 3/4", clearing the rest of the competition by over two feet. She also turned in an eighth place finish in the long jump, claiming a mark of 17'1 1/4".
Also putting forth a standout individual mark was senior Lori Cooper. The Brackney, Pa. native finished second, behind Minnesota's Ruby Radocaj in the women's javelin with a personal best mark of 141'0". The throw is the second best throw in school history and also qualifies Cooper for the ECAC Championships later this season.
The Leopard women received strong performances from senior Autumn Karwiel, whose 18:18.94 time in the 5000 meter run resulted in a third place finish. Junior Kristen Kalinowski cleared the 5'5" bar to place fourth in the women's high jump, while senior Frances Morro tallied a fourth place result in the 3000 meter steeplechase, crossing at 12:09.06.
Lafayette gained a pair of outstanding freshman results from Allison Tether and Stephanie Westerman. Tether, a native of King of Prussia, Pa., finished sixth in the javelin, recording a mark of 127'11". Westerman notched a seventh place finish in the 800 meter run, finishing the race at 2:27.19.
The Lafayette men were led by Wechsler's second place finish in the 3000 meter steeplechase and Sean McAuley's IC4A qualifying throw in the discus. Competing in the steeplechase for the first time in his Leopard career, the junior crossed the finish line at 9:28.98, trailing only Notre Dame's Jake Watson. McAuley launched a personal best spot of 155'1" to qualify him for the IC4A Championships later this season.
Joining McAuley with solid results in the throws were freshmen Connor McGee, who finished eighth in the shot put with a 46'4" mark and Seamas McGuire's ninth place result (165'0") in the javelin.
Steve Ekema-Agbaw tallied two top seven finishes in the Invitational. The senior notched a third place finish (44'11 3/4") in the triple jump and seventh place mark in the long jump, leaping to a 20'8" mark.
In addition to Wechsler, three members of the Leopard junior class notched top five finishes, led by Ever Ruiz's personal best fourth place time (55.76 seconds) in the 400 meter hurdles. Classmates Justin Blaum and Tom Blenk both turned in fifth place finishes, with Blaum following Ruiz at 56.91 seconds in the 400 meter hurdles and Blenk's 15.05 second performance in the 110 meter hurdles.
The Leopards return home and will get back into action when they travel to East Stroudsburg University on March 31 to take part in a 5-team meet, commencing at 11 a.m.
