EWING, N.J. - In its final tune-up before next weekend's Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Championships, the Manhattan College track & field team looked ready. Four athletes qualified for the ECAC/IC4A Championships, including two NCAA East Regional qualifiers, and numerous personal bests fell at the Lions Invitational on the campus of the College of New Jersey on a picture perfect Saturday afternoon.
On the women's side, Manhattan qualified for the ECAC Championships in both relays. The quartet of Andrea Nyback (Koping, Sweden), Cara Rostant (Valley Stream, N.Y.), Jackie Hargrove (Vienna, Va.) and Malin Olsson (Malmo, Sweden) took second in the 4 x 100 meter relay in an ECAC-qualifying time of 47.79 seconds. In the 4 x 400 relay, Heidy Palacios (Yonkers, N.Y.), Ashley Bowman (Elmont, N.Y.), Hargrove and Rostant posted a winning time of 3:47.96 to qualify for the ECAC Championships.
The NCAA Regional qualifier for the women was Megan Tice (Hyde Park, N.Y.), who won the high jump with a clearance of 1.66 meters (5'5¼). Melissa Yap (Orchard Park, N.Y.) set a new personal best of 3.50 m (11'5¾) to tie for first in the pole vault, and Sarah Moore (Irvington, N.Y.) took third with a mark of 3.20 m (10'6). Palacios clocked 57.01 seconds in the open 400 meters, good enough for second place, while Emmy Koskinen (Sodertalje, Sweden) and Maria Jangsten (Gothenburg, Sweden) went 2-4 in the 800 meters. Koskinen finished in 2:13.41, while Jangsten's time was 2:17.31.
For the men, Colin Quirke (Los Gatos, Calif.) qualified for both the IC4A Championships and NCAA East Regional in the discus, notching a winning throw of 52.40 m (171'11). Rokas Kiryls (Kamaji, Lithuania) took third behind his teammate in the discus (45.18 m, 148'3) and won the shot put with a toss of 14.73 m (48'4). He also set a personal best in the hammer throw (40.42 m, 132'7), taking eighth in that event. Pat Consoli (Cliffside Park, N.J.) placed fifth in the javelin with a personal-record distance of 53.82 m (176'7), while Dan Duffy (Monroe, N.Y.) took second in the triple jump (14.00 m, 45'11¼) and fourth in the long jump (6.63 m, 21'9).
The 4 x 400 relay squad of Tyrek Barney (Hempstead, N.Y.), Dimitri Mobley (Abington, Pa.), Carlos Petrovich (Yonkers, N.Y.) and Pat Porteus (Uniondale, N.Y.) finished second in 3:22.38. Barney later teamed with Nick Estis (Bardonia, N.Y.), Albert Johnson III (Painted Post, N.Y.) and Brian McGovern (Yonkers, N.Y.) for third place in the 4 x 100 relay (43.41). Mobley set a personal record in the 400 meter hurdles (55.80), while Petrovich was third in the 400 (50.24). In the 1500 meters, Mikael Rojeras (Sala, Sweden) was third in 3:58.61 and Billy Wilkens (Kenmore, Wash.) placed fifth with a 3:59.11 clocking.
Also on Saturday, the Jaspers wrapped up three days of participation at the 117th Penn Relays in Philadelphia. Andrew Trass (River Dell, N.J.) competed in the men's college javelin and took 17th with a toss of 57.02 m (187'0), while Roman Ewald (Olching, Germany) finished 28th in the men's college hammer throw (49.68 m, 162'11).
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