track teams host large meet

Bigger isn’t necessarily better, but it was at the annual meet hosted by the Muhlenberg track and field teams.

With 18 schools, nearly 700 athletes and more than 1,100 entries, the 2008 Muhlenberg Invitational was the biggest meet hosted by the Mules. The added quantity included added quality, as the teams combined for five NCAA provisional qualifiers and 60 ECAC qualifiers.

Five of the ECAC qualifiers belonged to the Muhlenberg men’s team, including first-place performances by juniors David Chorney and Timothy Van Syckle. Chorney won the 1,500 meters by three-and-a-half seconds over teammate Patrick Thornton. Van Syckle was impressive in capturing the 5,000 by nearly a 23-second margin, lowering his personal best from 15:42.07 to 15:18.60.

Senior Michael Karchner qualified for ECACs in the long jump with a personal-best leap of 21-4, and sophomore Brendan Kirk posted his second consecutive ECAC- qualifying time in the 400 hurdles. The 4x100 relay team also qualified for ECACs.

Freshman Bobby Torphy won the 800 meters, and senior Adam Carter (above) had an excellent final home meet, finishing fourth in the high hurdles and sixth in the intermediate hurdles and high jump.

The top performer for the women was sophomore Debra Crockett (right), who won the shot put and came in second in the discus. Her discus mark (115-3) topped her previous personal best by more than 13 feet and was just four feet short of the school record.
Click here for Muhlenberg highlights.
Click here for complete results.