RIVERDALE, N.Y. - The Manhattan College men's and women's track & field teams both enter the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Indoor Championships as the defending champions. With challenges expected from the Rider men and Saint Peter's women, Manhattan enters Friday night's meet looking to repeat. The competition gets underway at 5 p.m. from the Armory Track & Field Center.
The Jasper men will depend on a squad that's deep and talented in each of the four event disciplines. Colin Quirke (Los Gatos, Calif.) and Roman Ewald (Olching, Germany) are favorites in both the shot put and weight throw, while Tobias Lundgren (Alta, Sweden) is a medal threat in both the 3000 and 5000 meters. Among the sprinters, Justin Chiaravelle (Danbury, Conn.) is the three-time defending MAAC champion in the 55 meter hurdles and Carlos Petrovich (Yonkers, N.Y.) is the top seed in the 400 meters.
Albert Johnson III (Painted Post, N.Y.), the Most Outstanding Performer for Field Events at last year's MAAC Indoor Championships, has battled injuries for most of the season, but did earn MAAC Performer of the Week honors on Jan. 18 after posting the best long jump in the conference (7.19 m, 23'7¼). Dan Duffy (Monroe, N.Y.) also has scoring potential in the long and triple jumps. Brian McGovern (Yonkers, N.Y.) is the top pole vaulter in the conference, and Felix Siljeback-Larsen (Vasteras, Sweden) could medal in four different events.
"I think on the men's side, we're challenging Rider this time around," Head Coach Dan Mecca said. "They've put together a strong program and they have some good athletes. So, we have to see what we can do to make sure our team does what it's capable of doing."
Manhattan's women's squad will rely on an experienced corps of sprinters and jumpers. Ashley Bowman (Elmont, N.Y.) was named Most Outstanding Performer for Track Events after winning both the 55 and 200 meters at last year's meet. Bowman will run both events again this year. Cara Rostant (Valley Stream, N.Y.) has posted impressive times all season in the 200 and 400 meters, while Heidy Palacios (Yonkers, N.Y.) was the MAAC Performer of the Week on Jan. 12.
Siri Fagerlund (Helsingborg, Sweden) shared Most Outstanding Performer honors at the 2009 MAAC Indoor Championships, and will compete in four events on Friday. Others capable of contributing major points include Malin Olsson (Malmo, Sweden) in the long and triple jumps, Andrea Nyback (Koping, Sweden) in the long jump, high jump and 55 meter hurdles, and Megan Tice (Hyde Park, N.Y.), who will compete in all four jumping events.
"On the women's side, it's going to be a very close meet between us and Saint Peter's," Mecca said. "It could come down to the final event-the 4 x 400 meter relay-for both the men and the women this year."
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