1/27/2005 - Men's Track and Field
Men's Track & Field Set to Compete at Penn State National Open this Weekend
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Annapolis, Md. - The Navy men's track & field team will compete against more than 40 schools at the Penn State National Open Friday and Saturday in University Park, Pa.
Several teams from the Patriot League will compete in the event, which will give head coach Stephen Cooksey a chance to see some of the competition the Midshipmen will face at the conference championship, Feb. 18-20, at Lehigh.
"This is going to be a very exciting meet for us because several of the top teams from the East will be there," Cooksey said. "We'll have the opportunity to see how we stack up against those teams."
The Midshipmen (4-1) are coming off an impressive performance against James Madison last Saturday. Navy had five athletes qualify for the 2005 IC4A Indoor Championship in the non-scoring dual-meet versus the Dukes.
Three of the five IC4A qualifiers were freshmen, including Darryl Hunter (Des Moines, Iowa), Dante Marshall (Hermitage, Pa.) and Paul Harris (Woodbury, Minn.). The IC4A Championship will be held March 5-6, in Boston, Mass.
Overall, the Mids won 13 individual events and both relays.
In addition to qualifying for the championship, Hunter won the shot put with a toss of 51'6-1/2". The victory marked the third-consecutive meet Hunter has been victorious in the event.
Marshall qualified for the IC4A by placing first in the triple jump with a leap of 47'0-1/14". The win was the first-collegiate victory for Marshall, who had come close in several other events in earlier meets this season.
Harris took home top honors in the 800 meters with a time of 1:53.00. It was the second victory of the season for Harris, who also won the 500 meters versus Princeton back on Jan. 8.
Senior Ralph Lufkin (Basking Ridge, N.J.) and junior Joshua Sink (Welcome, N.C.) were the other two IC4A qualifiers for the Midshipmen. Lufkin won the 35-pound weight throw with a toss of 58'4", while Sink placed first in the 1000 meters in a time of 2:27.80. Lufkin, who also finished second in the shot put, has won the weight throw in all four of Navy's meets this season. For his efforts, Lufkin was named the Patriot League Men's Field Athlete of the Week for the third-consecutive time Tuesday.
Other Navy winners included sophomore Kelly Stephens (Houston, Texas) in the pole vault (14'9"); senior Adriel Morgan (Portage, Mich.) in the long jump (22'8"); sophomore Cole Herron (Sanger, Calif.) in the high jump (6'4"); junior Marcus Scarborough (Columbia, S.C.) in the 55-meter hurdles (7.86); sophomore Trey Hines (Douglasville, Ga.) in the 55-meter dash (6.55); freshman William Ricks (Sussex, Va.) in the 400 meters (49.59); freshman Craig Meekins (Baldwin, N.Y.) in the 500 meters (1:07.10); and junior Jamar Green (Pineville, La.) in the 200 meters (22.77).
Navy also won the 4x400-meter relay (3:20.34) and the 4x800-meter relay (7:55.98).
