NCAA D-III Preview: 5 NYU Violets head to nationals

Heim, Pirinelli, Woodruff defend titles

By Jack Pfeifer

Five members of the NYU track team – four distance runners and a quartermiler – are headed to the NCAA Division III championships, to be held beginning Thursday at Baldwin-Wallace College in Berea, Ohio.

Competing for Coach Nick McDonough are sprinter Daniel McKinney, a freshman from Los Angeles who ran 48.27 in the 400 this spring; Matt Turlip (Dunellen, N.J.), 3:50.21 in the 1,500; Calvin Lee (North Valley, N.J.), 9:09.31 steeplechase; Maeve Evans (Swanton, Vt.), 4:29.19 1,500, and Kirsten Keller (Fort Morgan, Colo.), 36:02.48 in the 10,000.

Three athletes from the Northeast -- pole vaulter Anna Heim and sprinter Eric Woodruff, of Moravian College in Pennsylvania, and shot putter Alyssa Pirinelli, of St. Lawrence University in upstate New York, will be trying to repeat as NCAA Div. III outdoor national champions. Two others – Emma Dewart, of Ithaca College, and  Jill Shaner, of Richard Stockton College in New Jersey --  are top-ranked in their events this outdoor season.

Dewart, a sophomore from Barker, N.Y., has scored 4,724 in the heptathlon. She is also entered in the 100 hurdles (seasonal best of 14.56) and the high jump (5-6). Shaner, from Egg Harbor Township, N.J., leads the javelin at 153-3.

Heim, two-time national champion, is a senior from Moorestown, N.J. She has a vault best of 13-8 ¼. Her Moravian teammate, Woodruff, has a 200 best this season of 20.82w. Pirinelli, a senior from North Tonawanda, N.Y., not far from Niagara Falls, leads the shot put at 47-7; she is also entered in the hammer, where she is 5th-ranked at 180-1.

A number of other Div. III athletes from the Region are national contenders:

·       William Brown, of Montclair State, is ranked No. 2 in the high hurdles, at 14.36. Brown, a sophomore from Gloucester H.S. (Palmyra, N.J.), was Div. III indoor champion a year ago. Right behind him on the seasonal high-hurdles list is Kyle Gilroy, of the College of New Jersey, at 14.39. Gilroy, from West Milford, N.J., is also entered in the 400 hurdles, at 53.06.

·       Nick Karwoski (Dickinson College) is No. 2 in the 5k at 14:21.93. He is also in the steeplechase (9:07.52).

·       Alex Eaton of Thiel College (Greenville, Pa.) is ranked No. 2 in the 400 at 47.13.

·       CNJ half-milers Jianna Spadacinni (2:09.22) and Meryl Wimberley (2:09.94) are ranked 2-3 in the 800 behind Marie Borner (Bethel University, Minn.), who has run 2:06.39. Spadacinni is from Butler, N.J., Wimberley from Colts Neck.

·       Lisa Shepherd (Richard Stockton College, N.J.) is ranked 2nd in the high jump, at 5-7 ¼.

In addition to the NYU competitors, there is one other New York City contestant in the meet. Kadisha Wickham, of York College in Queens, is in the 200, with a best of 24.67. Wickham, who went to H. J. Robinson H.S. in the Turks and Caicos, is also a starter on the York basketball team.

Other Div. III competitors from the Northeast include:

CNJ  Men: Chris Medina 100 (10.62), from Monsignor Donovan; 41.33 4x1, 3:14.55 4x4; women: Miriam Khan 100 (11.97), from Hopewell Valley; Priscilla Senyah 100 (12.25), 100H (14.17), from Sayreville War Memorial; Michelle Wallace 5k (17:02.06), from Emerson; 47.36 4x1, 3:51.50 4x4; Brianna Brennan javelin (138-1), from Holy Cross.

Ithaca College  Men: Max Orenstein 100 (10.71), 200 (21.28), from Trumbull, Conn.; Jeff Wetmore 200 (21.55), from Maple Grove, N.Y.; Chris Mastrosimone 400 (48.27), from Fairport, N.Y.; women: Marcia McCord 100 (12.01), 400 (56.30), from Rancocas Valley, N.J.; Kate Leugers 10k (36:14.87), from Richmond, Vt.; Amanda Rissmeyer HJ (5-6), from Millington, N.J.

Gwynedd Mercy  Dan Dunkleberger 200 (21.54), 400 (47.62)

Richard Stockton  Demetrius Rooks 400 (48.01), IH (53.30); Rachel Joseph PV (12-1 ½)

Cortland  Gino Bisceglia 400 (48.28), 3:14.20 4x4, Phillip Flynn TJ (47-11 ¼)

Widener  Dennis Conn 800 (1:51.49)

Fredonia  Nick Guarino 1500 (3:48.74), Kate Brett IH (62.84)

Haverford  Ivo Milic-Strklaj 1500 (3:51.92), Joseph Carpenter 5k (14:31.56), Anders Hulleberg 10k (30:26.83)

Plattsburgh  Mike Heymann 5k (14:27.88), 10k (30:03.65); Stefanie Braun 10k (35:59.90)

Geneseo  Ryan O’Connor 5k (14:28.25), Lee Berube 5k (14:29.64), Wenley Louis LJ (23-11 ¾), Tim Chichester 10k (30:28.71), Marissa Liberati steeple (10:51.84)

St. Lawrence  Dan Ramsey 5k (14:34.78), 10k (30:22.28)

Franklin & Marshall  Nils Michaelis HH (14.57), Sheena Crawley 800 (2:12.60)

Susquehanna  Paul Thistle steeple (9:06.15)

Connecticut Clg  Alex Samma TJ (48-4 ¾)

RPI  Erik Whiting hammer (184-4)

Ramapo  Dillon Rodgers Jav (203-0), Valdir Mondesir HJ (6-9 ½)

Rowan  Sean Corey Jav 215-3, from Cherry Hill East; Sean Biehn Jav (214-6), from Burlington Co.; Matt Tholis Jav (203-2), from Montgomery; Tiffany Chamberlain IH (62.47), from Burlington Twp; Jena Peacock Steeple (10:53.72), from Our Lady of Mercy

Delaware Valley  Thomas Masterson Jav (200-2)

Johns Hopkins  Laura Paulsen 5k (17:11.55)

Dickinson  Catherine Campbell 5k (17:11.75), 10k (35:58.16)

Messiah  Kristen Bates 100H (13.99)

Oneonta  Liz Maziejka 400H (62.82)

Moravian  Symonne Scott LJ (19-0), Micah Leonard TJ (38-3 ¼), 47.91 4x1, Mary King Jav (135-4)

Widener  Abby Schaffer PV (12-10)

Muhlenberg  Alexandra Faust PV (12-8 ¾)

Brockport  Stephanie Powell Ham (166-4)

Elizabethtown  Megan VanDenHengel steeple (10:55.47)