By T.J. Turrisi
May 8, 2008
May 07, 2008 11:02 pm
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At the end of last year’s inaugural Allegheny College Gator Track and Field Invite, AC head coach Bill Ross said, “Boy, is this meet going to get huge next season.”
He was right about that.
The second-annual event is set to start Friday at 1 p.m. with 727 expected event entries, including 47 in the much-anticipated men’s 1,500-meter run and 49 in the men’s 5,000-meter run.
“The meet has grown with the field sizes,” Ross said. “The meet last year we had 47 national qualifying performances and two Olympic qualifying performances. Word spread quickly across the country, so people are wanting to come here.”
The event will be headlined by Allegheny Colege senior Liz Earley in the hammer throw. Earley holds the school record in the event and had the longest throw in Division III this season.
She placed fifth at the Penn Relays last month and is ranked No. 2 in the country.
“If people are curious to see what the hammer throw is all about, here is an opportunity to see one of the best in the country do it,” Ross said.
Her personal best is 53.34 meters.
The men’s shot put will take place at 5 p.m. and will also be a point of interest for fans.
“Five of the top six guys in the country are throwing against each other,” Ross said. “All the other field events will be done so everyone can watch.”
Mount Union seniors Daniel Gund and Matt Dawson are seeded first and second at 18.03 and 16.61 meters.
State University of New York at Brockport senior Josh Dupuis (16.47), Shippensburg junior Sean Minnich (16.45), Kutztown senior Jim Dart (16.45), AC senior Frank Tupta (16.15) and Mount Union sophomore Judd Lutz (15.95) round out the top of a field of highly-ranked throwers.
“We have seven guys that throw over 53 feet. The top guy is from Mount Union who throws 59 feet.”
The men’s pole vault will also take place at 5 p.m. with 2003 Allegheny graduate and world championship qualifier Jeremy Scott returning to compete.
Scott cleared 18 feet, 63⁄4 inches last May.
Scott’s training partner Matt Novak will also be competing in the vault.
Novak was a two-time Division III national champion at the University of Wisconsin-Lacrosse.
In the 47-man 1,500-meter field, the top two finishers in last year’s 1,600-meter race will again make an appearance.
Unattached runner Ofer Barniv, who clocked in at 4:03 in 2007 to take first place, is the No. 5 seed (3:45.50) in this slightly shorter race.
Second-year Allegheny assistant coach Joe Eby, who took second in the mile behind Barniv, is slated fourth (3:45.30).
Todd Ptacek is the top runner with a personal best time of 3:44. The Olympic qualifying time is 3:43.
Ptacek is a resident of Erie and a graduate of Notre Dame.
“It will be a very fast and exciting race,” Ross said.
Rounding out the top five, all of whom have a legitimate shot at the Olympic mark, is No. 2 Daniel Caulfield and No. 3 Chris Hart, a junior at the University of Maryland in Baltimore County.
Commodore Perry graduate Chris Clark will attempt to fight off the pack in the 5,000-meter run as the top seed.
“This is his first serious attempt at the standard in outdoor track and field,” Ross said of Clark.
Clark is also a graduate of California University of Pennsylvania. His personal best time is 13:50.
A very successful Thiel College team will return, along with local newcomer Edinboro University.
Seven high school athletes from Erie, Crawford and Mercer counties are also expected to participate.
“We are doing a high school boys mile,” Ross said. “We started with one event to see how it would go as far as the interest from the high schools.
“We want to see if the high schools want to be a part of the event. We will continue to add events if the interest grows.”
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