Men Run Away with 4th Straight Title

May 5, 2006

Final Results (PDF)
Photogallery

DELAWARE, Ohio – The Allegheny used their large first day lead to run away with their fourth consecutive North Coast Athletic Conference title on Friday afternoon. After winning four events on the first day, the Gators took the top honor just twice on Friday, but placed two or more athletes in 11 of the 13 individual events.

The Gators scored a meet-record 237.5 points, over 100 points ahead of second place Wabash, who finished with 135. Host Ohio Wesleyan placed third with 132 points, while Wittenberg scored 91 points, good for fourth overall. Allegheny head coach Bill Ross was named the NCAC Coach of the Year.

In all, 18 different Gator athletes earned All-Conference honors by virtue of placing in the top three, as those 22 athletes earned a total of 18 All-Conference honors.

Ryan Place (Meshoppen/Elk Lake), the Indoor NCAC Middle Distance/Distance Runner of the Meet brought in both of the team’s first place finishes in the second day, winning the 1500-meter and 5,000-meter runs. Place and Ben Mourer (Chicora/Karns City) swept the top two spots in the 1500-meter run, running to times of 3:59.56 and 4:00.19, both season bests this season. Place and Mourer went first and third in the 5k, as Chris Carrier (Lyndhurst, Ohio/Charles F. Brush) (right) took fifth, as the trio ran times of 15:22.04, 15:29.36 and 15:42.18, respectively.

The Gators also placed three in the discus throw, as Devin Cruea (Geneva, Ohio) (left) took second overall with a season-best toss of 142-3. Vince Werner (Sheffield) took fourth with a toss of 136-10, after winning the javelin the day before, before Pat Confer (Bradford) placed eighth with a toss of 131-3, a season best.

Carrier ran to a season-best time of 9:37.50 in the steeple chase, while teammate Matt Smith (Sayville, N.Y.) placed sixth in a time of 9:47.01.

Matt Yurky (Homer City/Homer Center) (below right) and Dave Griffin (Pittsburgh/Montour) each placed in a pair of hurdle events, as Yurky took third in the 110-meter hurdles in a time of 16.12 with Griffin coming in sixth, crossing the finish line in a time of 17.66. The pair then went to place second and sixth in the 400-meter hurdles, with Griffin sprinting to a season-best time of 56.88 to take second overall, while Yurky took sixth in a time of 58.43.

Yurky also took third in the triple jump, leaping to a distance of 41-9.25, while teammate Sean Laird (Monroeville/Gateway) placed sixth with a leap of 40-7.5, a season best for the senior. Laird and Justin Schwab (Kill Buck, N.Y./Salamanca) each scored in the high jump, as Schwab took fifth, clearing 5-9.25, while Laird tied for sixth after clearing 5-9.25 on more misses than Schwab.

Confer finished his NCAC event with a second place finish in the hammer throw, his second second-place finish of the event. Confer tossed to a school-record distance of 150-11, breaking his own school record, while Kitt Tuttle (Alexandria, Va./T.C. Williams) took fifth with a toss of 142-0.

Aaron Rape (Zelienople/Freedom Area) took second in the 400-meter dash, finishing the one-lap event in a season-best, and nearly school record time of 49.68. Rape followed that performance with a third place finish in the 200-meter dash, sprinting to a time of 22.57, while teammate Marcus Solomon (Rockwell, Texas/Dallas Christian) finished eighth overall in a time of 23.15.

Solomon and Jeremy Walker (Greensburg/Hempfield) each placed in the 100-meter dash, Walker placing sixth in a time of 11.49 and Solomon eighth with an 11.54.

Garret Piispanen (Fruita, Colo./Fruita Monument) (left) took second in the 800-meter dash, sprinting to a time of 1:55.03 in the half mile, a season best.

The 4x100- and 4x400-meter relay teams took third and fifth respectively, as Walker, Troy Moles (Royersford/The Hill School), Rape and Solomon sprinted to a time of 42.93 in the one-lap relay. Griffin, Sean Flynn (Kensington, Conn./Xavier), Moles and Rape then teamed up to run a time of 3:26.96 in the 4x400-meter relay.

The next meet for the Blue and Gold is on May 10, when the team travels to Naperville, Illinois to compete at the North Central (Ill.) Invitational, hosted by North Central College.

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