2008 Woodie Awards
Track athletes make lasting mark on program
By Adam Brewer
Rocket Sports Editor
Issue date: 3/3/06 Section: Sports
Breaking school records seem to be a trend this season for the Slippery Rock University's indoor track team.
That trend has increased lately as the Rock has broken plenty of records the past couple of weeks.
Coach John Papa credits record-breaking performances to the new emphasis placed on the indoor track season and the advent of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Indoor Championships.
"It has only been about four or five years that the indoor track season has had a PSAC Championships," Papa said, "so more people are training harder and practicing better to do well in those championships and to also get ready for the outdoor season."
Papa said the increased amount of talent at the Rock is another reason for the broken school records.
"Over the past years we have had so many great athletes competing here from running to jumping to throwing," Papa said.
Five school records were set at the PSAC Championships at East Stroudsburg just last weekend.
Among the records broken were the 55-meter dash and the 200-meter dash set by Janiece Rash and Vera McDaniel, respectively.
Rash's time of 7.21 was the fastest qualifying time in this year's conference meet. It trimmed .01 of a second off her previous school record time set on Feb. 20 at the Kent State Tune-Up.
McDaniel earned the second fastest time in the 200-meter dash, 25.68, in the qualifying heat and broke Stacey Roberts' record set in 1996 by .07 of a second. Roberts also secured the record that Rash previously eclipsed.
Junior Paul Schwab shattered another record in the men's pentathlon when he scored 3,621 points and recorded the second place finish in the event. Schwab broke the record of friend, mentor and interim assistant coach Bill Jordan.
"It's a bittersweet feeling to break my coach's record," Schwab said. "He taught me discipline and he had helped me in my career at SRU."
The pentathlon consists of five events that include the 55-meter hurdles, long jump, shot put, high jump and finally the 1,000-meter run. Each event has point totals and the person with the most points wins.
"I was disappointed in my long jump, but I came back with my throwing in the shot put and I performed better in the remaining events," Schwab said.
The only remaining records that were broken were not done by one individual, but done by a group of four in a relay race.
The men's distance relay team broke the old school record with a 10:22.13 time, which was good for fifth place in the event. The team consisted of seniors Jacob Moore, Andrew Notareschi, Justin Gavazzi and junior Matt Bluman.
The women's 4x400 relay team also broke a two-year record with their 3:57.08 in the event. On the relay team were seniors Jill Rekich and Alison Gardner and juniors Melissa Sopher and Andi Rose. Rekich, Sopher and Rose were all on the relay team in 2004 that set the record along with Kara Lehman.
Papa said with a great indoor season coming to a close, the team is looking forward to the upcoming meets to start the outdoor season and is hoping for more records to fall.
That trend has increased lately as the Rock has broken plenty of records the past couple of weeks.
Coach John Papa credits record-breaking performances to the new emphasis placed on the indoor track season and the advent of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Indoor Championships.
"It has only been about four or five years that the indoor track season has had a PSAC Championships," Papa said, "so more people are training harder and practicing better to do well in those championships and to also get ready for the outdoor season."
Papa said the increased amount of talent at the Rock is another reason for the broken school records.
"Over the past years we have had so many great athletes competing here from running to jumping to throwing," Papa said.
Five school records were set at the PSAC Championships at East Stroudsburg just last weekend.
Among the records broken were the 55-meter dash and the 200-meter dash set by Janiece Rash and Vera McDaniel, respectively.
Rash's time of 7.21 was the fastest qualifying time in this year's conference meet. It trimmed .01 of a second off her previous school record time set on Feb. 20 at the Kent State Tune-Up.
McDaniel earned the second fastest time in the 200-meter dash, 25.68, in the qualifying heat and broke Stacey Roberts' record set in 1996 by .07 of a second. Roberts also secured the record that Rash previously eclipsed.
Junior Paul Schwab shattered another record in the men's pentathlon when he scored 3,621 points and recorded the second place finish in the event. Schwab broke the record of friend, mentor and interim assistant coach Bill Jordan.
"It's a bittersweet feeling to break my coach's record," Schwab said. "He taught me discipline and he had helped me in my career at SRU."
The pentathlon consists of five events that include the 55-meter hurdles, long jump, shot put, high jump and finally the 1,000-meter run. Each event has point totals and the person with the most points wins.
"I was disappointed in my long jump, but I came back with my throwing in the shot put and I performed better in the remaining events," Schwab said.
The only remaining records that were broken were not done by one individual, but done by a group of four in a relay race.
The men's distance relay team broke the old school record with a 10:22.13 time, which was good for fifth place in the event. The team consisted of seniors Jacob Moore, Andrew Notareschi, Justin Gavazzi and junior Matt Bluman.
The women's 4x400 relay team also broke a two-year record with their 3:57.08 in the event. On the relay team were seniors Jill Rekich and Alison Gardner and juniors Melissa Sopher and Andi Rose. Rekich, Sopher and Rose were all on the relay team in 2004 that set the record along with Kara Lehman.
Papa said with a great indoor season coming to a close, the team is looking forward to the upcoming meets to start the outdoor season and is hoping for more records to fall.
