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For Immediate Release December 9, 2008 Contact: Ralph Ventre (ext. 7)

Monmouth Owns Top Spot in NEC Men’s Indoor Track & Field Preseason Poll for Fifth Straight Year Hawks Looks to Reclaim Team Title following 2008 Runner-up Finish Somerset, NJ -- Monmouth finds itself atop the Northeast Conference men's indoor track & field preseason poll for the fifth year running. The poll, which was released by the confer- 2008-09 Northeast Conference ence office as a precursor to its weekly awards program, is an attempt by the league's head Men’s Indoor Track & Field coaches to predict the order of finish at the 2009 NEC Indoor Track & Field Championships Preseason Coaches Poll presented by Road Runner Sports on February 21-22 in Landover, MD. 1. Monmouth (8) 2. Sacred Heart (4) The Hawks garnered eight first-place votes to finish ahead of defending NEC team champion 3. Saint Francis (PA) Sacred Heart, which claimed the remaining four first-place nods. Saint Francis (PA), a 4. Long Island four-time NEC champion earlier this decade, finished third as each of the top-three teams 5. Robert Morris claim the exact same position it did in last year's balloting. Long Island displaced Robert 6. Fairleigh Dickinson Morris for fourth, moving the Colonials down to fifth followed by sixth-place Fairleigh 7. Mount St. Mary’s Dickinson. Mount St. Mary's, which searches for its first title since it won back-to-back 8. Quinnipiac crowns in 1997 and 1998, claimed the seventh spot in the poll followed by Quinnipiac, 9. Wagner Wagner, and Bryant. The , which officially become a core NEC member 10. Bryant come 2012-13, are eligible for the conference title meet as it moves through the NCAA- 11. Central Connnecticut State mandated reclassification process. Central Connecticut State took 11th in the poll with St. 12. St. Francis (NY) Francis (NY) rounding out the selections. First place votes in parentheses Last year marked the first time in Monmouth's span as a preseason favorite that the coaches' prognostication proved errant. Entering last year's meet as the four-time defending team champions, Monmouth left as the runner-up to Sacred Heart, which captured its first-ever league crown thanks to a remarkable individual performance from Arman Dixon.

Monmouth loses all three of its NEC individual champions from a year ago, but head coach Joe Compagni perennially has one of the conference's deepest squads. NEC champion throwers Christian Keller (shot put) and Ed Skrowronski (weight) are gone, but sophomore Tom Ciccoli (King of Prussia, PA/Archbishop Carroll) is likely to step up following a NEC indoor runner-up shot put finish as a rookie. Senior miler Ryan Madrid (Clifton, NJ/Paramus Catholic) would like to turn his second-place silver showing to gold at this year's league meet. The same can be said for junior distance runner Peter Forgach (Long Branch, NJ/Red Bank Catholic) who was the runner-up in last year's 5K race. The Hawks have the ability pick up points in a number of other events, including the 4x400-meter relay where they last posted a second-place finish.

Sacred Heart comes off it first-ever indoor title, which had much to do with the remarkable individual efforts by three-time NEC Indoor MVP Arman Dixon. The since-graduated Dixon single-handedly accounted for 44 of the Pioneers' 138 points in one of the most impressive displays

(2008-09 NEC Men’s Indoor Track and Field Preseason Release; 1-of-3) Central Connecticut State University • Fairleigh Dickinson University • • Mount St. Mary’s University • Robert Morris Unviersity • • St. Francis (NY) College Saint Francis (PA) University • any NEC Championship has seen. Scott Giordano's departure leaves head coach Christian Morrison without the reigning 200-meter champion, too, but the 2008 NEC Indoor and Outdoor Coach of the Year has the ability to readjust his formula. Senior distance runner John Kenworthy (Gloversville, NY/Gloversville) can definitely help by turning in something similar to the 3000-5000 double that yielded a third and fourth place finishes last season. Senior Luis German (Southampton, NY/Southampton) is a proven mid-distance scorer. He claimed fourth place in both the mile and 800-meter at last year's title meet.

Saint Francis (PA), a four-time team champion earlier this decade, posted a second straight third-place finish at last year's meet. Third-year coach Felix Moreno has continued the fine tradition the Red Flash have had in the sport and kept them near the top of the team standings. Moreno helped sprinter James Bush develop into a silver medalist indoors and a NEC champion outdoors, but now must find a way to make up for losing him. Senior Jorden Davis (Mississauga, Canada/Loyola Catholic) can certainly help by improving upon his second- place finish in the quarter-mile. Senior Denis Eradiri (Sofia, Bulgaria/Vladislav Gramatik 73) is another proven performer, having claimed silver in the triple jump.

Long Island was a mainstay on the NEC's weekly awards list thanks to explosive sprinter Corryl Boyd (Waldorf, MD/Westlake) and reigning 500-meter champion (1:03.73) Julius Mutekanga (Fort Portal, Uganda/Uganda Christian). Head coach Simon Hodnett returns both to the Blackbirds' arsenal this season, which instantly makes the team a contender. Boyd, a sophomore, claimed an unprec- edented five NEC Indoor Rookie of the Week awards last season. Owning the NEC's top 200-400 double at one point last season, Boyd also excels in the long jump where he took silver (7.21m) in last year's league title meet. Mutekanga, a junior, claimed the final two NEC Athlete of the Week awards last season after bursting onto the scene at the Metropolitan Championships where he was the runner-up in both 400-meter dash (48.38) and 800-meter run (1:52.46), logging two IC4A-qualifying times.

Robert Morris head coach Michael Smith has brought along a number of the NEC's top jumpers in recent seasons. Sophomore Chris Spataro (Gibsonia, PA/Pine Richland) and junior Anthony Trunzo (Trafford, PA/Penn-Trafford) posted a one-two finish in last year's pole vault. Two-time indoor high jump champion Jeff Witmyer is gone, but the possibility of a Colonial reclaiming that title is not. Junior high jumper Jordan Dyson (Frederick, MD/Frederick) cleared the same height as Witmyer at the 2008 meet, but settled for silver since it took him an extra attempt. Senior Kevin Argauer (Honeoye Falls, NY/Honeoye Falls) adds to the Colonials' prowess in the field as a possible IC4A qualifier in the weight throw.

Fairleigh Dickinson loses 60-meter hurdles champion Eric Sheppard and all-NEC second team 800-meter runner Cortez Adams, but head coach Sharlene Milwood-Lee may already have the next NEC hurdles champion on her roster. Senior Thomas Mackey (Bridgeton, NJ/Essex CC) claimed bronze behind his event-winning teammate in the hurdles at the 2008 NEC meet and also logged a fifth-place finish in the high jump.

Mount St. Mary's senior hurdler Quenton Beard (Frederick, MD/Frederick) has the ability to turn last year's runner-up finish in the 60-meter hurdle (8.45) to gold. Sophomore Gigi Gibilisco (Newtown, PA/Notre Dame HS [NJ]) did his best work outdoors, scoring in the 400-meter hurdles at the NEC title meet, but he can also contribute indoors as a half-miler. Mount St. Mary's duo of junior Kyle Ryan (New Market, MD/Linganore) and freshman Dylan Bernard (Frederick, MD/Urbana) have scoring ability in the distance events. The pair enjoyed an impressive showing at the 2008 NEC XC Championships, respectively finishing fourth and fifth.

Quinnipiac head coach Shawn Green has built a fine distance program that has claimed each of the last three NEC men's cross country crowns. Green saw that success carry over onto the track where Tyler Dinnan (Juneau, AK/Juneau -Douglas) returns to defend his 3000-meter (8:37.70) and 5000-meter (15:10.78) titles. Dinnan, a junior, won't be the lone title contender for Quinnipiac. Rookie Richard Klauber (Thomaston, CT/Thomaston) is set for his first collegiate indoor season after claiming the men's cross country individual championship this past fall.

Wagner has a solid group of sophomores that head coach Joe Stasi will attempt to further develop. Second-year distance runner Derek Rammelkamp (Miller Place, NY/Miller Place) nearly scored in the 3000-meter run at his first career NEC meet. Sophomore sprinter Derek Schultz (Oceanport, NJ/Shore Regional) began to blossom outdoors and is a possible scorer in the 200-meter dash.

(2008-09 NEC Men’s Indoor Track and Field Preseason Release; 2-of-3) Bryant, a reclassifying NEC member, makes the move up from the Division II ranks, and brings a number of competitive athletes along with it. Junior Alex Engel (Spencer, MA/David Prouty HS) will be a contender in the NEC 500-meter race as evidenced by his time of 1:05.84. Stephanie Reilly's first season after having the interim label removed from her head coaching title will be Bryant's first at the Northeast Conference Championships.

Central Connecticut State eighth-year head coach George Kawecki has a strong nucleus of upperclassmen headed by junior Ry Sanderson (Bantam, CT/Forman School) and senior Sean Smith (Norwich, CT/Norwich Free Academy). Sanderson appears poised to further elevate his performance this indoor season following a third-place overall finish at the 2008 NEC XC Championships. With Sanderson leading the way on the distance side, Smith heads the Blue Devils in the sprints. An IC4A indoor qualifier in the 200-meter, Smith enjoyed even more success last spring when he qualifier for the IC4A in the 400-meter and took second in the event at the Championships.

St. Francis (NY) continues to tap into the rich resources of New York City under second-year head coach Kyle Brown. Senior Daquan Massey (New York, NY/Fashion Industries) is a local talent who scored in the 500-meter race at the 2008 NEC indoor title meet.

(2008-09 NEC Men’s Indoor Track and Field Preseason Release; 3-of-3)