Penn Relays Web Site
ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. --- Members of the Elizabethtown College men's and women's track and field teams will be participating in the 116th Penn Relay Carnival at Franklin Field, competing in a total of six races during the three-day event.
The Blue Jay men are entered in the 4x200 and 4x400-meter relays Friday afternoon, along with a pair of distance races Thursday night, while the Blue Jay women are represented in the 4x400-meter relay Thursday afternoon and a Thursday night distance race.
"Representing Elizabethtown College in front of 40,000 people at The Penn Relays Carnival is always one of the highlights of our season," commented director of cross country and track & field
Christopher Straub. "For a select few, it's a special moment in their collegiate careers."
Action for Elizabethtown gets underway Thursday at 7:00 p.m., when the women's 4x400-meter relay team competes in the Centennial/MAC Relay. Competing for the Blue Jays are
Katy Fogel,
Ashley Lockwood,
Jill Patrick and
Kathryn Howser with
Janna Richards serving as alternate.
At 9:40 p.m.,
Evan DeArmitt will run in the men's 5,000-meter run, followed by
Megan VanDenHengel in the women's 10,000 meters at 10:15 p.m. and
Colby Miller in the men's 10,000 meters at 10:55 p.m.
"Thursday's Distance Night down at Penn Relays is something all distance runners growing up in the Mid-Atlantic region of the U.S. strive to participate in," said Straub. "It's been five years since we last had a male distance runner compete (Jose Miranda in the 10,000m in 2005). So with Evan and Colby competing tonight it marks a resurgence in our men's distance program and, with both only sophomores, shows how bright our future is heading into 2010-2011 and 2011-2012. Megan has competed in the 4X4 in the past, but this will be her first time competing in Distance Night."
VanDenHengel carries on in a strong tradition of women distance runners who have competed in the 10,000m at Penn Relays (Melissa St. Clair in 2004 and 2005, Erin Fisher in 2008, and
Amanda Daws in 2009).
Friday, the Blue Jays return to action in a pair of relays. At 1:50 p.m., the men's 4x200-meter relay of
Mike Mauger,
Wyatt Eaton,
Pat Doughty and
Brandon Walters will compete, followed at 5:30 p.m. by the Pop Haddleton MAC 4x400 Relay with Eaton,
Brian Allport,
Kyle Grimm and
Luke Rotenberger, with Walters and
Aaron Focht as alternates.
Last year, the Blue Jays won the Pop Haddleton MAC Relay as Eaton,
Dylan Rulander, Allport and Grimm crossed the line in 3:21.25.
Elizabethtown College Top Moments at the Penn Relays
Six Penn Relays "Wheels" or Championships in the 4X400m.
**Three for men (2005, 2007, and 2009) and three for women (2004, 2005, and 2006).
2006 Women's 4X400m team of Tina Bucci, Katelyn John, Nicole Murphy, and Erin Lichti ran 3:57.64 to provisionally qualify for the NCAA Division III Outdoor T&F Championships. It was a Penn Relays record for the MAC/Centennial Section at the time and stands as a school record to this day.
2007 Men's Sprint Medley Relay (200-200-400-800) won their section when All-American half-miler and the senior anchor leg, Patrick Donovan of California, ran everyone down over the final homestretch to beat Duke, Liberty, Maryland Eastern Shore, UNC-Wilmington, Army, and Monmouth!
In 2004, senior Dave Berdan ran 30:14.54 and finished in the Top 10 at Penn Relays. It stands as ETown's school record in the event. A month later Dave came within inches of winning the NCAA Division III National Championship in the event finishing second to Tom Haxton of University of Chicago by a mere 98/100ths of a second in the 10,000m!
In 2005, cross country All-American and senior Jose Miranda narrowly missed Berdan's record running 30:17.63 at Penn Relays. The time qualified him for the national championships in the event. Senior Melissa St. Clair ran 35:46.62 and finished in the Top 10 at Penn Relays. It stands at the 10,000m school record in the event. Like Berdan, St. Clair was a National Runner-Up at the NCAA Division III National Championships in the 10k.
In 2008, senior Erin Fisher ran 36:03.08 at Penn Relays to qualify for the NCAA Championships. The ranked her 10th in the country in Division III that year. She would go on to run her PR of 36:00.52 and finish seventh to become an All-American in the 10,000m to close out her collegiate career.