Syracuse University
ECAC/IC4A Outdoor Championship
ECAC/IC4A Preview: Jumps/Throws
5/14/2010 11:19:30 AM | Track and Field
PRINCETON, N.J. – The Syracuse track & field team will resume its championship season when it travels to the ECAC/IC4A Outdoor Championship beginning Friday, May 14 through Sunday, May 16. Thirty four student-athletes will compete in 15 different events throughout the three-day competition, which is hosted by Princeton University at the Weaver Outdoor Track & Field Stadium. The competition begins at 1 p.m. with the decathlon events.
The Orange last contended at the BIG EAST Outdoor Championship, where the men earned their best mark since 2007 with a seventh-place finish, while the women finished eighth for a four-spot improvement from last year. The women were led by two-time defending BIG EAST heptathlon champion in senior Uhunoma Osazuwa, who earned an NCAA Automatic-qualifying score of 5,549. For the men, junior Jarret Eaton and graduate student Michael LeBlanc teamed up with graduate student Antoine Clark and freshman Darryl White to win the 400m relays before Eaton went on to win the 110m hurdles in an NCAA Regional-qualifying time of 13.85. LeBlanc followed suit in his respective event, taking the crown in the 100m dash (10.47) for the second year in a row.
Last year, Syracuse had two individual champions in graduated senior Kyle Heath and Osazuwa. Heath captured his second consecutive IC4A crown in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, while Osazuwa earned her second consecutive heptathlon title.
Jumps
Four Orange will take to the field in different event this weekend. Sophomore Ieva Staponkute looks to make an impression on the rest of the Northeast in the triple jump after qualifying at the BIG EAST Championship with an All-BIG EAST jump of 12.24. She will be joined by senior Annabelle Pellerin, who earned her qualifying mark in the high jump at the Coastal Carolina meet (1.70m).
On the men's side, graduate student Bernard Bush will see how he fairs against the region's best in the long jump. In his third consecutive trip to IC4A's, Bush looks to improve on last year's third-place finish (7.50m). The Tacoma, Wash. native owns the top four marks of the year, including a season-best showing of 7.33m at the BIG EAST Outdoor Championship.
Throws
Sophomore Mark Melilli is the lone Orange representative in the throws, as he will take the field in the javelin. Melilli earned an NCAA Regional-qualifying mark of 62.81m at the ASU Sun Angel to break the previous school record held by Jeff Niedrowski (60.24m) in 1993.