(Posted February 26, 2006)

SELINSGROVE, PA ? The Juniata College men?s and women?s indoor track and field teams enjoyed two strong team performances as both Eagles teams placed fifth at the 2006 MAC Indoor Track and Field Championships in Selinsgrove Saturday afternoon. The Juniata men earned 57 points to claim their fifth-place effort, which was 13 points more than the team claimed last year in finishing fifth. On the women?s side Juniata bested its seventh-place finish from a season ago by claiming 56 points to claim fifth place. The Eagles enjoyed a huge point jump on the women?s side after claiming 18 points at last season?s championship. Juniata freshman Kelsey Buffenmyer (Donegal/Mount Joy) was picked as the Conference Rookie of the Year on the women?s side.

The Juniata women got a pair of top individual performances as the Eagles earned points in a variety of events. The two victories came in the high jump and the 5,000. Nancy Hayes (Westminster/Westminster, Md.) earned a first-place finish in the 5,000 as she ran a time of 18:46.47. Teammate Katey Glunt (Bellefonte/Bellefonte) was third in the event behind Hayes. Buffenmyer captured her first top finish in her first conference championship as she placed first in the high jump with a leap of 5? 2?. Buffenmyer would add a second-place finish in the long jump and a fifth-place effort in the 55-meter hurdles to round out her scoring efforts.

Other Juniata competitors to earn points in individual events for the team were seniors Debbie Delaney (Franklin/Reisertown, Md.) and Meredith Troutman (Meyersdale/Meyersdale). Delaney captured a sixth-place effort in the weight throw while Troutman was the fifth-place finisher in the 200.

The rest of the team?s points came from several strong relay efforts. The top effort was in the distance medley as the quartet of Hayes, Glunt, Emily Landis (Christopher Dock/Harleysville) and Aubrey Cyphert (Seneca/North East) ran to a second-place finish in the event. Juniata?s 4x200 relay team nearly matched that performance as Caitlin Hinson (Danville/Danville), Troutman, Tiava Morris (Baltimore City College/Baltimore, Md.) and Buffenmyer placed third. Hinson, Troutman, Morris and Landis then added a fifth-place effort in the 4x400 relay. Rounding out the scoring was a sixth-place finish from the team of Cyphert, Lauren Gates (Bishop Guilfoyle/Altoona), Kristen Gochnauer (Warwick/Lititz) and Kate Moreau (The Woodlands/The Woodlands, Tx.) in the 4x800 relay.

The Eagles will now wait and see if any of their athletes qualify for the NCAA Division III Indoor Championships which will be held March 10-11.

The Juniata men piled up points in the sprints and jumping events, while also posting several top relay performances. The team?s top finish on the day was in the distance medley relay as the team of Shawn Rumery (Thornton Academy/Dayton, Maine), Tripp Rudolph (Upper St. Clair/Pittsburgh), Eric Hoover (Brandywine/Wilmington, Del.) and Chris Sheaffer (Central York/York) posted a time of 10:44.08 to claim a first-place finish. The Eagles also got a runner-up finish in the 4x800 relay as the same quartet covered the distance in a time of 8:09.32 to earn another eight points for the team.

Juniata earned three scoring places in the 55-meter dash with Randy Anderson (Dubois/Dubois) placing second, just a fraction behind the first-place finisher. Dusty Sier (Smithsburg/Smithsburg, Md.) was fourth in the event and Gary Ondecko (Bishop Carroll/Northern Cambria) rounded out the scoring with a sixth-place effort. Anderson continued his point-scoring efforts in the 200 as he posted a time of 22.81 to place third in the event. A fifth-place finish from Mark Modak (Sandy Spring Friends/Gaithersburg, Md.) rounded out the team?s scoring efforts on the track.

Anderson was also effective in the jumps as he claimed a second-place finish in the long jump. Matthew Booth (Allentown Central Catholic/Allentown) was fifth in the long jump for the Eagles, and then produced a fourth-place finish in the triple jump. Adam Loser (Central York/York) capped the team?s strong jump efforts with a fourth-place effort in the high jump.

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Contact April Feagley at feaglea@juniata.edu or (814) 641-3131 for more information.