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Feb. 21, 2008

• Patriot League Championship Page

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The Navy men's track & field team will head to Gerhard Field House in Lewisburg, Pa., in hopes of winning its third Patriot League Championship within the last-five years this Friday through Sunday.

Navy's last visit to Bucknell's Gerhard Field House last came in 2004 for the Patriot League Championship. In that meet, the Midshipmen won the league crown with head coach Stephen Cooksey earning the first of two Patriot League Coach-of-the-Year honors during his career.

Coming into the indoor season, Navy was picked to tie for the Patriot League title with defending champion Army. Three weeks ago in Annapolis, the Midshipmen defeated the Black Knights, 95-86, to capture the N-Star for a program-record seventh-consecutive year.

In order to win the Patriot League title, the Midshipmen will have to rely on their top performers and depth in several key events. The Mids currently own the league's best mark in eight of the 20 events that will be contested over the three-day championship.

Perhaps Navy's strongest area will be in the middle distance events, where it owns the fastest times in the 500-meter and 800-meter runs. Paul Harris (Sr./Fairburn, Ga.) paces the league in both events, as he has completed the 500-meter run in 1:01.80, the fifth-fastest time in school history, and the 800-meter run in 1:49.29, the third-best time in program history. His top showing in the 800-meter run provisionally qualified him for the NCAA Championship and currently ranks as the 13th-best time in the nation. The Midshipmen aren't limited in to him in these events, as Craig Meekins (Sr./Baldwin, N.Y.) and Lucas Burke (Sr./Bakersfield, Calif.) are both IC4A qualifiers. Last weekend at the Iowa State Classic, Meekins finished the 800-meter run in 1:51.87, followed by Burke's 1:53.39 showing.

Navy's 4x400-meter relay team also boasts the league's fastest time this winter, as the quartet of Will Ricks (Sr./Hopewell, Va.), Meekins, Vince Carpentier (So./Branchburg, N.J.) and Harris combined for a time of 3:15.27 at the Penn State National Open on Jan. 26.

Another area of strength for the Midshipmen could arise from their corps of throwers. Navy owns the top-two places in the weight throw this spring, as Christopher Bordino (Jr./Gastonia, N.C.) leads the way with a season-best toss of 58'8" (17.88 meters), while Mark Van Orden is second with his 55'1" (16.79 meters) showing one month ago. In the shot put, Navy holds the first- and third-best distances in the league, both of which are IC4A marks. Darryl Hunter (Sr./Des Moines, Iowa) tops all throwers with a season-best toss of 55'11" (17.04 meters) and Andre Barber's (Sr./Carrollton, Texas) 52'11" (16.13 meters) mark is third on the list.

Multi-event athlete Ron Belany (Sr./Haiku, Hawai'i) may provide the Mids with scoring in several events this weekend, as he ranks among the Patriot League's top-four performers in four events. Belany owns the top performances in both the heptathlon (5,218 points) and the 60-meter hurdles (8.13 seconds, converted from 55-meter hurdles). The Navy senior also ranks second in the long jump with a distance of 23'4-1/2" (7.12 meters) and fourth in the pole vault with a height of 15'5" (4.70 meters). He has qualified for the IC4A Championship in the heptathlon, 60-meter hurdles and long jump.

This season, the Midshipmen have racked up a total of 25 IC4A Championship entries among 16 different events. In addition to surpassing the qualifying standard, those who win an event at the Patriot League Championship will also receive an automatic entry to the IC4A Championship.

Following this weekend's league championship, the Midshipmen will head up to Boston for the IC4A Championship on March 8-9.

Navy's 2008 IC4A Championship Qualifiers  Name  Event Mark  Meet (Date) Paul Harris   500-meter Run 1:01.80   Mt. St. Mary's, UNCW, W&M (Jan. 19, 2008) Paul Harris   800-meter Run 1:49.29*^   at PSU National Open (Jan. 26, 2008) Craig Meekins   800-meter Run 1:51.87#   at Iowa State Classic (Feb. 16, 2008) Lucas Burke   800-meter Run 1:53.39#   at Iowa State Classic (Feb. 16, 2008) Ben Kozy   1,000-meter Run 2:29.67   Army (Feb. 2, 2008) Andrew Hanko   Mile Run 4:09.99^   at PSU National Open (Jan. 26, 2008) Ben Kozy   Mile Run 4:11.17#   at Iowa State Classic (Feb. 16, 2008) John Olsen   Mile Run 4:12.15   American, Penn, VCU (Jan. 12, 2008) Andrew Hanko   3,000-meter Run 8:15.58   at Iowa State Classic (Feb. 16, 2008) John Olsen   3,000-meter Run 8:21.06   at Princeton (Jan. 6, 2008) John Kress   3,000-meter Run 8:28.87   Army (Feb. 2, 2008) Ron Belany   55-meter Hurdles 7.60   Army (Feb. 2, 2008) Matthew Hanley   55-meter Hurdles 7.71   American, Penn, VCU (Jan. 12, 2008) Bill Stillman   High Jump 2.04m   Army (Feb. 2, 2008) Kraegen Bramer   Pole Vault 4.80m   Army (Feb. 2, 2008) Ron Belany   Long Jump 7.12m   Army (Feb. 2, 2008) Dante Marshall   Long Jump 7.10m   Army (Feb. 2, 2008) Dante Marshall   Triple Jump 14.70m   Army (Feb. 2, 2008) Darryl Hunter   Shot Put 17.04m   Mt. St. Mary's, UNCW, W&M (Jan. 19, 2008) Andre Barber   Shot Put 16.13m   Navy Invitational (Dec. 5, 2007) Christopher Bordino   Weight Throw 17.88m   Army (Feb. 2, 2008) Ron Belany   Heptathlon 5,218 pts.   Mt. St. Mary's, UNCW, W&M (Jan. 19, 2008) Will Ricks, Craig Meekins, Vince Carpentier, Paul Harris   4x400-meter Relay 3:15.27^   at PSU National Open (Jan. 26, 2008) Andrew Grant, Matlack Gillin, Lucas Burke, Ben Kozy   4x800-meter Relay 7:48.11   Army (Feb. 2, 2008) Craig Meekins, Will Ricks, Paul Harris, John Olsen   Distance Medley Relay 9:52.52^   at PSU National Open (Jan. 26, 2008) * denotes NCAA provisional qualifying mark ^ denotes mark achieved on banked track # denotes mark achieved on oversized track