Double duty
Falcons earned 16 medals in split squad meets
| WU Results | SRU Results |

SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio – The Notre Dame College Track and Field teams competed in split squad events on Saturday. The throwers and distance runners competed at the Walsh Invitational in North Canton, Ohio, while the remainder of the team traveled to Slippery Rock, Penn. for the SRU Invitational. The NDC Men finished fourth out of five teams in North Canton while the women finished fifth out of five squads. The SRU Invitational was an unscored event.

Walsh Invitational
The Walsh Invitational featured six medals overall, including two Gold, two Silver and two Bronze.

Leading the way for the Falcons were the throwers on the men's side. Jim Boals (So/North Benton, OH) won the Discus with a distance of 50.29 meters (165-00). Boals' throw not only earned him the top spot but also a new NDC program record which he had previously set himself at the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Outdoor National Championships last year (May 26, 2007).

The Discus was a strong showing for the Falcons with two others finishing in the top ten. Landon Huvler (Sr/Lexington, OH) earned Bronze with a distance of 44.60 meters (146-04). Rocco Cononico (Sr/Lordstown, OH) ended in seventh place hurling to a 37.92 meter (124-05) performance.

Other men's medal performances included Tim Robinson (Fr/Akron, OH), who earned the other Gold medal for NDC in the Shot Put. Robinson bested the competition with a 14.20 meter (46-07.25) showing. In the Javelin Throw, Kyle Komer (Jr/North Royalton, OH) finished second with a throw of 40.18 meters (131-10).

In the women's competition, the 4x400 Meter Relay (Melzer-Higgins-Manzeo-Torres) earned a Silver medal with a time of 4:46.65.

Rounding out the women's highlights was Samantha Murphy (Fr/Columbus, OH) who finished third in the Shot Put with a distancs of 11.63 meters (38-02.00).

SRU Invitational
With the majority of both teams competing at the Slippery Rock Invitational, NDC fared well at the multi-team, unscored competition. The Falcons earned a total of ten medals, seven for the men and three for the women.

Headlining the men's competition was Tom McKrill (Fr/Mentor, OH) who earned three medals on the day including two invididual and one in a relay. McKrill earned Bronze in the 100 Meter Dash with a time of 10.86 seconds.

In the 200 Meter Dash, he was joined by Jason George (Fr/Galloway, OH) and the duo finished in second and third places, respectively. McKrill earned Silver with a time of 22.70 while George picked up the third spot, clocking in at 22.72. Both were personal best times for the 2008 Outdoor season.

The 3,000 Meter Steeplechase featured both a medaling performance and a new NDC record. Chad Dobson (So/Croswell, MI) finished with a time of 10:04.40 that earned him a Bronze medal for the Falcons.

Ryan Clark (Fr/Novelty, OH) finished second in the Pole Vault where he also set a new NDC program record of 4.57 meters (15-0).

Rounding out the medal count for the men's competition was Mike Mannozzi (Fr/Youngstown, OH) in the 5,000 Meter Racewalk and the Men's 4x100 Meter Relay (Swift-Tolliver-George-McKrill)

In the women's competition, the Blue and Gold earned two Gold medals and one Bronze. April Wanzo (Sr/Cleveland, OH) finished in the top spot in the 400 Meter Dash with a time of 57.37, which also gives her an automatic berth to the NAIA National Championship meet in May.

In the 800 Meter Run, Cherice May (So/Euclid, OH) landed a third place finish, clocking in at 2:20.94. Her time marks a season best for the Falcons. Closing out the medal tally for NDC was Allie Rendlesham (Jr/Richmond Heights, OH) in the 3,000 Meter Steeplechase, with a Gold medal performance time of 12:11.04.

NDC takes to the track again when they gear up for the American Mideast Conference (AMC) Championship meet on Apr. 18-19 in Canton, Ohio.

Notes from the Nest...

SEVEN FOR ST. LOUIS: Seven Falcons have qualified for the NAIA National Championship Meet May 22-24 in St. Louis, Mo. Jim Boals is qualified in the Discus while teammate Mike Mannozzi will compete in the 5,000 Meter Racewalk. On the women's side, five have qualified with April Wanzo leading the way. Wanzo will compete in three individual events (100, 200 and 400 Meter Dashes) and the 4x100 Meter Relay with Jamyra Davis (So/Galloway, OH), Lauren Hollis (Fr/Mount Vernon, OH) and Ariel Baker (Fr/Maple Heights, OH).

RECORD REVAMP: Overall, five Falcon records fell between the two meets on Saturday. In addition to the three men's records (Discus Throw, 3,000 Meter Steeplechase and Pole Vault), two women's events were broken. Ariel Baker set a new record in the 100 Meter High Hurdles with a time of 16.06, shattering her previous best by over two seconds. In the women's Triple Jump, Angela Giamei (Jr/South Euclid, OH) launched herself to a distance of 9.93 meters (32-07) which was good enough for an eleventh place finish.