Gators Dominate at NCAC First Day

Mar 2, 2007

Championships Website

GRANVILLE, Ohio – The Allegheny College Gators took off from the start in the 2007 North Coast Athletic Conference Championships picking up a first place finish in all three events on the day, the shot put, the triple jump and the 5,000-meter run. Overall the Gators brought home six All-NCAC honors, while the rest of the field accrued three.

Allegheny finished the first day with an eye-popping 62 points, while the second place squad, The College of Wooster, has 19. Wabash and Ohio Wesleyan are in a tie for third place with seven points apiece while Earlham (6) and Denison (5) round out the six teams that have scored in the competition.

The Gators dominated the competition from the beginning, placing three in the top four finishers in the shot put, with Frank Tupta (University Heights, Ohio/Hawken) and Devin Cruea (Geneva, Ohio/Geneva) placing first and second respectively, each with a career-high toss to their credit. Tupta’s toss of 51-3.75 was also an NCAA Division III Provisional qualifying standard, as Cruea’s toss of 49-3.5 topped his previous career high of 45-1.50. Two-time defending league champion Pat Confer (Bradford, Pa./Bradford) took fourth overall with a toss of 46-5.75, helping the Gators to a 23-point first event.

In the triple jump sophomore Joe McMahon (Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin) set a new career-high and upped his NCAA Division III provisional qualifying mark with a leap of 46-8.25, winning by over two feet, while classmate Matt Yurky (Homer City, Pa./Homer-Center) placed third overall with a distance of 44-0.75, also a career-high, helping the Blue and Gold to 16 more points and 39 total through two events.

In the final scoring event of the first day, the Gators took dominance of the 5,000-meter run, having runners place first, second and fourth in the event. The trio were bunched for the entire race, as the group rotated front position throughout. Chris Corkins (Horseheads, N.Y./Horseheads) pulled ahead at the end, running to a two-second victory in a time of 15:10.24, as teammate Ben Mourer (Chicora, Pa./Karns City) placed second in a time of 15:12.41. Marco Dozzi (Pittsburgh, Pa./Chartiers Valley) finished fourth overall, with Earlham’s Walker Yane snapping the sweep for the Gators, Yane running a time of 15:14.16 and Dozzi just behind with a 15:14.50.

Competition continues tomorrow, March 3, at 10:30 a.m. as the pole vault and high jump begin. The day will conclude at approximately 5:35 p.m. with the 4x400-meter relay.

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