Allegheny College Athletics

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Gators Win Fifth Straight League Title

March 3, 2007

GRANVILLE, Ohio – The Allegheny College Gators won their fifth consecutive North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Indoor Track & Field championship, winning by 45 points, as sophomore jumper Joe McMahon (Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin), below right, was named the NCAC Field Events Athlete of the Meet and head coach Bill Ross was named the NCAC Men’s Coach of the Year, the 25th total Coach of the Year honor Ross has won between cross country, indoor and outdoor track & field.

The Gators won the event with 159 points, with Ohio Wesleyan (114) and Wabash (100.5) rounding out the top three. Denison (75.5), Wooster (43), Kenyon (42), Wittenberg (39), Oberlin (31), Earlham (15) and Hiram (5) rounded out the field.

The Gators placed two competitors in the top eight in the long jump, led by the triple jump champion from a day ago. McMahon placed second of the event, leaping to a distance of 21-8.5, while Matt Yurky (Homer City, Pa./Homer-Center) placed seventh overall with a career-best distance of 20-2.

The Gators continued their dominance in the first event of the second day, placing second and third in the pole vault, with sophomore Peter Sotherland (Kalamazoo, Mich./Kalamazoo Central), left, placing second, clearing a career-high height of 14-0, with classmate Erich Wittmer (Sewickley, Pa./Quaker Valley) clearing 13-8, placing third in the competition, giving the Gators 14 more points to their already large advantage.

Allegheny had three of the top four finishers in the 3,000-meter run, with Marco Dozzi (Pittsburgh, Pa./Chartiers Valley) taking first in a time of 8:50.53. Chris Corkins (Horseheads, N.Y./Horseheads) and Ben Mourer (Chicora, Pa./Karns City), the top two finishers in the 5,000 in the first day, placed third and fourth, respectively, the former running to a time of 8:53.97 and the latter 8:54.53.

The Gators also brought home an individual title in the distance medley relay, with the team of Matt Smith (Sayville, N.Y./Sayville), Alex Rowland (Pittsburgh, Pa./Fox Chapel Area), Jamie Drab (North East, Pa./North East) and Ryan Hanson (Presto, Pa./Chartiers Valley), right, finishing in a time of 10:38.03, a second ahead of second place Wabash.

The Blue and Gold placed three in the top seven in the 55-meter dash, with Josh Brannan (Latrobe, Pa./Greater Latrobe) placing fourth in a time of 6.70, as Chas Moore-Seymore (Buffalo, N.Y./St. Francis) took fifth with a 6.78. Jeremy Walker (Greensburg, Pa./Hempfield) placed seventh for the Blue and Gold, sprinting across the finish line in a time of 6.79. Brannan followed that race by taking fourth in the 200-meter dash, running the one-lap event in a time of 22.97.

Walker, Brannan, Marcus Solomon (Rockwell, Texas/Dallas Christian) and Moore-Seymore, pictured at left, sprinted to a third place finish in the 4x200-meter relay, crossing the tape in a time of 1:33.05, earning All-NCAC honors for the group.

In the mile, Corkins took fifth overall to lead the Gators, with Mourer right behind in eighth place. The duo ran 4:24.22 and 4:28.98, respectively. The Gators also took fourth and eighth in the 800-meter run, with Garret Piispanen (Fruita, Colo./Fruita Monument) finishing fourth in a time of 1:56.85, and Craig Ball (Pittsburgh, Pa./Penn Hills) placing eighth in a career-best time of 1:58.98.

Yurky, in addition to his long jumping, added two points for the Gators, placing seventh in the 55-meter hurdles, finishing in a time of 8.17.

Alex Gorski (Pittsburgh, Pa./Mt. Lebanon) picked up a point for the Gators, placing eighth overall in a time of 52.66 in the 400-meter dash.

The Gators ended the meet with a fourth place finish in the 4x400-meter relay, as the team of Piispanen, Ball, Gorski and Walker ran to a time of 3:32.29.