(Posted March 25, 2006)

SELINSGROVE, Pa.? The Juniata College men?s and women?s track and field teams kicked-off its outdoor season with strong showings at the Jim Taylor Invitational in Selinsgrove Saturday afternoon. In the 15-team field the Juniata men enjoyed 13 top-seven individual finishes while the Eagle women captured 11 individual efforts in the top seven in the non-scored meet.

The men?s team earned three first-place individual finishes on the day, with two of them coming from sophomore Matthew Booth (Allentown Central Catholic/Allentown). He leaped to first-place finishes in both the long and triple jump on the day, while also adding a fifth-place finish in the 200. Randy Anderson (DuBois/DuBois) garnered a first-place finish in the 100 while Gary Ondecko Jr. (Bishop Carroll/Northern Cambria) was fifth in the event. Anderson also notched a sixth-place effort in the triple jump.

The Juniata men also enjoyed several other high finishes in the field events, beginning with a second-place finish from Kyle Mazur (Morris Catholic/Ogdensburg, N.J.) in the javelin. Adam Loser (Central York/York) captured a third-place effort in the high jump while Shawn Miller (Altoona/Altoona) placed seventh in the pole vault.

On the track the Eagles earned several more high finishes, highlighted by Tripp Rudolph?s (Upper St. Clair/Pittsburgh) third-place finish in the 800. Mark Modak (Sandy Spring Friends/Gaithersburg, Md.) was fourth in the 400 hurdles and fifth in the 110 hurdles. Chris Sheaffer (Central York/York) added a sixth-place finish in the 1,500. Jason Hoover (Brandywine/Wilmington, Del.) also produced a fifth-place finish in the steeplechase. The Eagles also got a first-place finish in the 4x100 relay as the quartet of Anderson, Ondecko, Booth and Dusty Sier (Smithsburg/Smithsburg, Md.) posted a winning time of 42.99.

The top finish for the Juniata women came in the field events as Kelsey Buffenmyer (Donegal/Mount Joy) placed first in the high jump. The Eagles would add two more top-seven efforts in the field events as Debbie Delaney (Franklin/Reisertown, Md.) placed sixth in the discus and seventh in the hammer throw.

On the track, the ladies enjoyed great success in the sprints. Caitlin Hinson (Danville/Danville) ran to a second-place effort in the 100, and then placed fourth in the 200. Amy Reynolds (Jefferson/Harpers Ferry, W.V.) was seventh in the 100 and added a sixth-place effort in the 400. Meredith Troutman (Meyersdale/Meyersdale) matched Hinson?s runner-up finish with a second-place effort in the 200.

Also excelling on the track was Katey Glunt (Bellefonte/Bellefonte) who ran to a third-place finish in the 3,000 steeplechase, with a time that broke her own school record in the event. Kristen Gochnauer (Warwick/Lititz) was sixth in the 10,000 and Kim Campanero (North Arlington/North Arlington, N.J.) rounded out the top-seven efforts with a seventh-place finish in the 400 hurdles. Juniata also had runner-up finishes in both the 4x100 and 4x200 relays.

The Eagles will return to action next Saturday at the Western PA Championships hosted by Carnegie Mellon University.

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Contact April Feagley at feaglea@juniata.edu or (814) 641-3131 for more information.