track and field teams fifth
after first full day of cc meet

When Tara Keegan was a freshman on the Muhlenberg track and field team last year, she suffered a back injury that should have ended her season.

Sophomore Jim Gamrat improved his personal best by more than 6 feet to place seventh in the discus.

Her doctor said no running. So she asked the coaching staff if she could try the javelin, and she wound up placing seventh in that event at the Centennial Conference Championships.

That was one of the first steps in Keegan becoming a heptathlete, and she made the final step a successful one, finishing fourth in the heptathlon at the 2011 Centennial Conference Championships. Her score of 3540 ranks third on the Mules' all-time performance list - not too shabby for her

Mitchell has won three silver medals and two bronzes as a relay team member at CC championship meets.

first-ever heptathlon.

"I think it was a good starting point," she said. "I'm satisfied."

So, too, was the first full day of the CC meet a good starting point to be satisfied about for the Muhlenberg teams. The Mule men and women both finished the day in fifth place but with a chance to score many points on the final day of the meet.

The men, in particular, are poised to make a big run when they return to their home track on Sunday. They qualified athletes in all six events for which there were trials. Junior Peter Rice and sophomore Isaiah Vaughn won both of their preliminary heats, Rice in the 200 and 400 and Vaughn in the 100 and 200. Rice posted the fastest qualifying time in the 200, with Vaughn right behind him.

Muhlenberg also qualified two for the 110-meter high hurdles final, with freshman Scott Reutter improving his personal best by a half-second to join junior Michael Baer in the final. In the 400 intermediates, junior David Kurtis knocked a full second off his previous p.r. and posted the second-fastest qualifying time.

In finals, junior Marc Brookland earned a bronze medal in the long jump, Baer finished fourth in the decathlon with a 246-point improvement from last year, and sophomore Nate Crossette made a late push to take eighth place in the steeplechase.

For the women, the 4x800 relay team of sophomore Erica Bash, freshman Nicole

Click above to see the video of Kurtis winning his heat in the 400-intermediate hurdles. The quality of his performance is better than the quality of the video.

Cronin, senior Hannah Mitchell and junior Kimberlee Yalango picked up the Mules' highest place to date, earning silver. The quartet led for most of the race before getting overtaken by Swarthmore on the final lap and finished with the second-fastest 4x800 time in program history.

Sophomore Colette Faust tied for fourth in the high jump, while freshman Stephanie Carnevale placed seventh in the long jump and (along with sophomore Amanda Brennan) qualified for the 100 hurdles final.

And then there was Keegan, who accomplished one of her objectives with the five points she earned by placing fourth in the heptathlon. "Before today, my regular events were not up to par to place in this meet," she explained. "I thought the hep would give me a better shot for getting us team points."

She nearly did place in another event, making the finals in the long jump but missing eighth place by less than an inch. That was despite feeling just a little worn down from the seven events in two days. "After the first day, I was okay, but the second day was a little hard, coming out here early in the morning all by myself." She added with a smile, "I'll know what to expect next time."
Click here for Muhlenberg placewinners.
Click here for complete results.