April 6, 2013
EASTON, Pa. - The Lafayette Track and Field team split with rival Lehigh in the annual Lafayette-Lehigh Dual Meet. The women topped the Moutain Hawks 102-101, while the men fell 119-84.
Freshmen Erin Keen and Devin Smith provided some top finishes in the sprints to gain the Leopards valuable points. Keen won the 100m, took second in the 200m, and ran the first leg of the 4x100m and 4x400m relays. Smith finished first in both the 200m and 400m, and anchored the winning relay teams.
Stephanie Benko was victorious in the 5000m run, recording a time of 18:02.59. Rose Willey, who took third in the event, gained a victory of her own in the 3000m steeplechase. Willey's time of 11:16.34 beat second place by 25 seconds.
Elise Buffinton's height of 12' 3.5" in the high jump was not only good for first place in the meet, but an ECAC qualifying height as well.
Rachel Pena continued her hot streak in the throwing events. She threw 42' 8.75" in the shot put to take first place, took third in the discus with a distance of 117' 3", and won the hammer throw with an 188' 8" heave.
Teammates Sarah Talmadge and Gwen Steckel grabbed second and third place in the shot put. Steckel also won the discus event by more than 19 feet with a throw of 146' 2".
On the men's side, Lafayette swept the top three spots in the 400m hurdles. Bill Leonard (54.93), Ryan McVeigh (55.35), and Tim Shaw (55.72) all captured points for the Leopards.
Leonard and McVeigh were also members of the 4x400m relay team that won in a time of 3:18.76. Neil Franzese and Nick Hepp were the other members of the relay.
Freshman Jarrel Bobb carried over his success from last week's 7-way meet by taking first in the long jump with a distance of 22' 4.5", and second in the triple jump with 44' 10.75". Teammate Nick Orzol won the triple jump event with a leap of 46' 11".
Chris Luna gained a victory in the final event of the day for the Leopards. The junior threw 179' 3" in the javelin, and won by seven inches.
The Leopards will next travel to Bethlehem, Pa. to compete in the Moravian College Coach P Open on April 13. Events are slated to start at 10 a.m.
