Gators Victorious at Fredonia State

Jan 21, 2008

RESULTS (.pdf)

FREDONIA, N.Y. – Behind four first-place finishes, two by senior Emily Pfeufer (St. Mary’s, Pa./Elk County Catholic), in addition to an NCAA Division III provisional qualifying mark from Liz Earley (Venetia, Pa./Peters Township), the Allegheny College Gators ran away with the team title at the Mary Phillips Invitational, hosted by Fredonia State University.

The Gators accumulated a team score of 101, easily out-distancing host Fredonia State, who had 76. Buffalo State and Erie Community College rounded out the four teams in attendance with 63 and 14 points, each.

Pfeufer took top honors in each of the horizontal jumps, winning the long jump with a metric distance of 5.34, just seven centimeters off of her own school record, while teammate Emily Norton (Kenmore, N.Y./Kenmore) took third with a leap of 4.83, a North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Championship qualifying mark. Pfeufer followed with a leap of 10.86 in the triple jump, good for first in the competition.

In the weight throw, an event she earned All-America honors in a season ago, Earley took third overall; however, her toss of 15.14 was nearly ten centimeters further than the provisional qualifying mark. Earley also took third in the shot put in a NCAC qualifying distance of 11.18.

Sarah Sammel (Pittsburgh, Pa./Bethel Park), who suffered a season- and potentially career-ending injury at this meet a season ago, came back in grand fashion, winning the pole vault, clearing a height of 10-0, over a foot higher than the next finisher, while ensuring her place at the league championships in March.

Liz Straus (Kirtland, Ohio/Kirtland) also picked up a first-place finish, winning the high jump with a leap of 5-0, just a quarter inch off of her personal best, while Pfeufer leaped to a season-best height of 4-10, with both of the marks meeting the league championship standard.

The Gators took three of the top four spots in the 55-meter hurdles, with Jessica Gratton (Bridgeville, Pa./Chartiers Valley) nearly meeting an NCAC qualifying mark with a time of 9.62. Pfeufer and Norton followed, each marking a time of 9.73, with Pfeufer narrowly out-leaning the freshman for the third place finish.

In the mile, Mia Symoniak (Synder, N.Y./Amherst Central) took second place in a time of 5:47, with teammate Eva Weyers (Delanson, N.Y./Duanesburg) finishing third, crossing the finish line in a time of 5:57. First-year Gator Rebecca Lendyak (Cowansville, Pa./Ford City) took second in a pair of events; the 55-meter hurdles where she was .just over a tenth of a second from breaking the school record in a time of 7.66, and in the 200 where she finished the one-lap race in a time of 28.31.

Laura Heltman (Mars, Pa./Mars) and Katie Stancik (Russell, Ohio/Chagrin Falls) a pair of first-year runners, each picked up a third place finish, Heltman in the 400 (1:08.25) and Stancik in the 3,000 (11:17.57).

The Gators return to the track on January 25 when the squad will compete at the Penn State University National Invitational.

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