Jan. 23, 2009

2008-09 Navy IC4A Qualifier List & Field House Records

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The Navy men's track team will compete alongside some of the nation's top athletes as an impressive field, highlighted by perennial NCAA power Tennessee, heads to Annapolis to compete in the inaugural Wesley A. Brown Invitational on Saturday afternoon.

The six-team invitational will also feature full squads from No. 21 Georgetown, Maryland, Ivy League power Princeton and La Salle.

"I am excited for our guys to get the experience of performing against some top-flight competition," said Navy head coach Stephen Cooksey. "The new field hosue has been a major addition to our program and has afforded us the opportunity to bring in a field with teams of this caliber. We'll be amped up for Saturday and hopefully it will bring the best out of us."

The meet is slated to begin with the 35 lb. weight throw and the high jump at 11:00 a.m., while the running events kick off with the 5,000-meter run at noon.

On the inaugural Wesley A. Brown Invitational
*Brings together five individual athletes who rank among the top 10 in the nation in their respective events this season (eight athletes who rank in the top 20).

Athletes Among the 2008-09 NCAA Individual Event Rankings
School		Athlete		Event	        Rank	Time / Dist.
Tennessee	Evander Wells 	60m 	        5th 	6.69
                                200m 		2nd 	20.90
                Charlton Rolle 	60m Hurdles 	6th 	7.85
                Nick Panezich 	Shot Put        11th 	17.82m
Princeton	Justin Frick	High Jump	6th	2.15m
		Alex Pessala	Weight Throw	10th	19.58m
                Eric Plummer	Shot Put	12th	17.77m
Georgetown	Chris Kinney	60m Hurdles	17th	7.91
Maryland	Dwight Barbiasz	High Jump	3rd	2.18m

*Programs competing represent some of the top conferences in the nation: SEC, ACC, Big East, Ivy League, Atlantic 10

*Held in honor of the building's namesake, Lt. Cmdr. Wesley Brown, USN (ret.), who became the first African American midshipman to graduate from the Naval Academy in 1949.

*One of five competitions hosted this season at the state-of-the-art, $52 million Wesley A. Brown Field House. The 140,000-square foot facility features a 200-meter hydraulic banked track (one of four such tracks in the U.S.), dual pole vault/jumping runways, dual throwing areas and a scenic view of the Severn River.

Scouting Navy
This winter, the Midshipmen feature an underclassmen-laden roster including 23 freshmen, but still also return five all-league performers from last year's team that swept both the indoor and outdoor Patriot League titles for the first time in program history. The indoor crown was the third for Navy within the last five years and their first since the 2005 championship.

A young Navy squad (4-3) will carry some well-time momentum into this weekend's competition after delivering its finest all-around performance on the young season in last Saturday's quad meet in Annapolis. The Mids claimed first in three events and posted seven IC4A marks to top a four-team field which included the reigning CAA champion UNC-Wilmington.

Navy was led by a pair of veteran leaders in seniors Chris Bordino (Gastonia, N.C.), and Andrew Grant (Athens, Ga.). Earlier this week, Bordino became the third Midshipmen to garner league athlete of the week kudos this season, joining Grant and fellow weight thrower, junior Mark Van Orden, who were honored on Jan. 13 and Dec. 9, respectively.

The North Carolina native has excelled in the throwing circle at the outset of the 2008-09 indoor campaign, surpassing the IC4A standard in all meets and achieving PRs in each of the last two weekends. Bordino paced Saturday's field with career-best toss of 61' (18.59m) to lead a 1-2-3 Navy effort in the event and set the tone for a strong overall day for the Midshipmen.

A versatile distance runner, Grant competed outside his signature event (3,000m) and posted an IC4A-qualifying 1,000-meter time of 2:26.86 to earn runner-up honors. Navy's indoor team captain has now qualified for the March championship in two individual events and as part of the Mid's top distance medley relay foursome.

Senior distance runners Bill Prom (New Berlin, Wis.) and Matthew Leyndyke (Traverse City, Mich.) both produced IC4A qualifying efforts in a hand-timed 5k race with times of 14:33.0 and 14:38.0, while sophomore David Ash (Williamston, Mich.) gained entry with his win in the 800 (1:54.54) and rookie standout Dominic Della Pelle (Kennett Square, Pa.) followed suit qualifying as the runner-up in the 3,000 (8:26.70).

On the year, seven Mids and two DMR foursomes have combined to produce a total of 14 performances that have met the IC4A-qualifying standards.

Saturday's marks the final regular season home competition for Navy this season. Following this weekend's meet, the Mids are off for a week before returning to action in West Point on Feb. 7 for the annual Star Meet against archrival Army.

Scouting the Field
Tennessee
A traditional track and field powerhouse, the Vols, who finished fifth at the last year's NCAA Indoor Championships, return three individual All-Americans and one-half of its All-America 4x100 relay team for the 2008-09 season.

Who to Watch For: Six-time All-American sprinter Evander Wells
Wells, who is slated to compete in the 200m and 4x400 relay this weekend, was recently listed as the 15th-best 200-meter runner in the world in the February 2009 issue of Track & Field News. In 2008-09, he has provisionally qualified for the 2009 NCAA Championships in both the 60m and 200m.

Princeton
One of the Ivy League's top programs, Princeton makes a return trip to Annapolis just two weeks after winning 10 of 17 events and topping a five-team field which included Navy, American, Penn and VCU on January 10. The Tigers boast three nationally-ranked field athletes, led by the country's sixth-ranked high jumper in Justin Frick.

Who to Watch For: Two-time NCAA high jump finalist Justin Frick
Both Frick and classmate Ian Fox entered the 2008-09 season ranked among the Top 25 in the preseason USTFCCCA rankings. A two-time Ivy League champion, Frick produced the sixth-best jump in the country this season with his NCAA provisional-qualifying 2.15m clearance in the Tigers' season opener on December 6. During last year's outdoor slate, he captured the high jump title at the NCAA Regional meet.

Georgetown
On the strength of a formidable distance and middle distance corps, Georgetown entered the 2008-09 season ranked No. 21 in the USTFCCCA preseason poll. One of two Big East teams recognized in the national poll, the Hoyas feature the top returning collegiate indoor miler in the country in senior Andrew Bumbalough. This fall, Bumbalough led Georgetown to its first top-10 finish at the NCAA Cross Country championships since 2003.

Who to Watch For: Preseason No. 1 and All-American miler Andrew Bumbalough
Bumbalough held the top mile time in the nation last year at 3:58.46, but opted to run the 3k race at the NCAA Championship, where he earned runner-up honors. The 2008 Mid-Atlantic Cross Country Athlete of the Year, the distance stalwart leads the Hoyas' nationally-ranked distance medley relay unit.

Maryland
Thus far this season, a young Maryland squad has been led by freshman high jump standout and provisional NCAA qualifier Dwight Barbiasz. The Terps, who finished seventh amongst a competitive field at the 2008 ACC Indoor Championships, have had six athletes qualify for March's IC4A Championship meet.

Who to Watch For: Freshman high jump phenom Dwight Barbiasz
Competing in just his second meet as a Terrapin, Barbiasz posted an NCAA provisional-qualifying mark of 7'1-3/4" (2.18m) at last weekend's Maryland Invitational in Landover. His clearance is the third highest in the country this season.

La Salle
Picked to finish third at the Atlantic 10 Indoor Championships, La Salle returns six first-team all-conference honorees from its 2007-08 squad.

Who to Watch For: Reigning Atlantic 10 55m hurdle champion Steve Rendell
Rendell won the 55m hurdles and was a member of the winning 4x400 relay team at last year's A-10 Indoor Championships. He is off to a strong start to the 2008-09 season thus far with two individual event victories in the hurdles.

Wesley A. Brown Invitational
Event schedule - Saturday, January 24
Time Event
11:00 a.m. 	Weight Throw, High Jump
12:00 p.m. 	Long Jump, Pole Vault, 5,000m
12:40 p.m. 	60m Hurdles - Prelims
12:50 p.m. 	60m - Prelims
1:00 p.m. 	Mile
1:15 p.m. 	Triple Jump
1:20 p.m. 	60m Hurdles - Finals
1:30 p.m. 	60m - Finals
1:40 p.m. 	400m
1:50 p.m. 	800m
2:05 p.m. 	Shot Put
2:10 p.m. 	200m
2:20 p.m. 	3,000m
2:30 p.m. 	4x400 relay
2:45 p.m. 	Distance Medley Relay

Wesley A. Brown Field House Track & Field Records
Event 			Name 				School 		Time/Dist.
35 lb. Weight Throw 	Chris Bordino 			Navy 		18.59m
Shot Put 		Eric Plummer 			Princeton 	17.77m
High Jump 		Ian Fox 			Princeton 	2.04m
                        James Blocker 			Morgan State 	2.04m
Pole Vault 		David Slovenski 		Princeton 	5.12m
Long Jump 		Predist Walker 			Hampton 	7.48m
Triple Jump 		John Carelli 			Penn 		14.78m
5000m 			Carlos Jamieson 		American 	14:51.77
60m Hurdles 		Predist Walker 			Hampton 	8.03
60m Dash 		Manuel Reynaert 		VCU 		6.78
1 Mile Run 		Trevor Van Ackeren 		Princeton 	4:14.76
400m		 	Kevin Bowen 			Morgan State 	48.03
800m 			Donte Holmes 			Delaware State 	1:54.42
200m 			Kevin Bowen 			Morgan State 	21.62
1000m 			Ian Fitzgerald 			William & Mary 	2:26.45
500m 			Mike Eddy 			Princeton 	1:04.84
3000m 			Andrew Grant 			Navy 		8:24.18
4 x 400m relay 		Clarke, Easton, Holmes, Reeves 	Delaware State 	3:15.97
4 x 800m relay 		Anastasia-Murphy, Fitzgerald 	William & Mary 	7:51.29
                        Bilsborrow, Sklodowski
Distance Medley Relay 	Morrison, Fasseel, Roy, Grant 	Navy 	       10:11.64

### GO NAVY! ###