Men’s Track & Field: Weller Shines at CC Championships
WESTMINSTER, Md. - Garnet sophomore Ross Weller brought home the bronze medal in the 3,000 steeplechase and the 4 x 800 meter relay team collected a silver medal as Swarthmore finished ninth at the 2006 Centennial Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships at McDaniel College this past weekend.
Haverford men picked up their 13th Centennial Conference title in as many Conference meets and Ursinus' Brandon Evans was named outstanding track performer while long jumper Broderick Maybank from McDaniel took home most outstanding performer in the field events.
The highlight of the meet occurred at mid-day on Saturday when Weller ran a personal-best time of 9:48.30 in the 3,000 meter steeplechase, finishing a close third to Haveford's Grant Scott and McDaniel's Matt Rouse. It is also the fifth-fastest time in school history and the best in 15 years. Swarthmore had strong showings in the middle distances as Matt Schiller '07 (50.79) ran fifth in the 400 meter race and freshman Connor Darby was sixth in the 800 with a time of 1:59.87.
The Garnet 4 x 800 relay team, consisting of Dillon McGrew '07, Vernon Chaplin '07, Keefe Keeley '06, and Paul Thibodeau '06, capped the afternoon by finishing second to Haverford with a time of 7:54.83.
On Sunday, Chaplin led a collection of Garnet in the 1,500 meter race, finishing sixth (4:01.00) while Thibodeau (ninth - 4:06.80) and senior Adam Hunt (18th - 4:15.74) finished in the top 20. Chaplin's time was his best in the 1,500 this season and the seventh-fastest in school history. Weller came back on Sunday and ran strong in the 5,000 meters, taking 11th place (15:39.76) while freshmen Erik Saka (19th - 16:05.11) and Dan Hodson (16:22.82) hit the top 25.
Garnet freshman Rory Stackpole had a strong performance in the javelin on Sunday, placing seventh out of 23 competitors with a toss of 149' 4" on Sunday.
Final Team Scores:
1. Haverford 144, 2. Gettysburg 111, 3. Ursinus 109.50, 4. Johns Hopkins 99.50, 5. McDaniel 93, 6. Muhlenberg 89.50, 7. Dickinson 81, 8. Franklin & Marshall 58.50, 9. Swarthmore 31