Track & Field

Cougar Throwers Lead Track and Field at Osprey Open

POMONA, N.J. (4/5/08) - The Kean University men's and women's track and field teams competed at the Osprey Open at Richard Stockton College on Saturday afternoon.

The Cougar throwers led a strong showing, as nine different throwers recorded top 10 finishes at the meet and two individuals qualify for the Eastern College Athletic Conference Division III Outdoor Championships in May.

Kean placed four in the top 10 in the women's javelin throw, led by freshman Jamie Grenger (Hazlet, N.J.) (pictured right) and her second-place finish with a throw of 29.56 meters (97-00).  Freshman Jan Bush (Abington, Pa.) followed in fourth (29.25 meters/95-11), while fellow classmates Samantha Chapman (Middletown, N.J.) and Lauren Dobbs (Palmyra, N.J.) were eighth (27.09 meters/88-10) and ninth (25.19 meters/82-08), respectively.

In the shot put, Bush placed fourth with an ECAC-qualifying throw of 11.63 meters (38-02.00), and junior Sarah Lyon (Clymer, N.Y.) finished eighth (9.84 meters/32-03.50).  Lyon added a third place finish in the discus throw (33.78 meters/110-10), and junior Sarah Zadoyko (Pompton Lakes, N.J.) was 10^th with a throw of 28.44 meters (93-04).

On the track, junior Erin Jones (Upper Saddle River, N.J.) placed eighth in the 100-meter hurdles (17.56), while junior Demeka Pressley (Trenton, N.J.) was ninth in the 400-meter dash (1:02.29).  Jones also placed third in the pole vault with a leap of 2.95 meters (9-08.00)

The women's 400-meter relay squad placed seventh in an ECAC qualifying time of 52.29 seconds and the 1600-meter relay team added a ninth place finish (4:18.88).

In the men's meet, freshman John Badala (Scotch Plains, N.J.) placed in the top eight in three events for the second straight week.  He had his best finish in the shot put, placing second with an ECAC qualifying throw of 14.33 meters (47-00.25).  Badala (pictured left) added a sixth place finish in the javelin throw (48.28 meters/158-05) and an eighth place showing in the discus (37.10 meters/121-09).

The Cougars had two other top 10 finishers in the shot put, as Rick Jaeger (Hazlet, N.J.) placed fifth (13.82 meters/45-04.25) and freshman Brian Vanderstad (Pompton Lakes, N.J.) was seventh (13.35 meters/43-09.75).

Junior Jason Staggers (Jackson, N.J.) added a pair of finishes in the top 10, placing sixth in the high jump (5-11.50) and tied for ninth in the long jump (6.23 meters/20-05.25).

In the pole vault, freshman Josh Chavanne placed fifth (3.80 meters/12-05.50) in his first meet of the season, while sophomore Peterson Paquiot (Elizabeth, N.J.) was seventh (3.35 meters/10-11.75).

On the track, Chavanne added an eighth place finish in the 110-meter high hurdles (16.96), and sophomore Matt Gough (Jefferson, N.J.) was fifth in the 400-meter dash in a time of 51.25 seconds.

The men's 1600-meter relay team finished fifth in 3:27.25, while the 400-meter relay squad placed 10^th (44.20). 

The Cougars return to action next weekend at the West Chester University Collegiate Invitational on Friday and Saturday, April 11-12.