JASPERS KICK OFF INDOOR TRACK & FIELD SEASON WITH QUALIFYING MARKS

RIVERDALE, NY (December 1, 2002) - The Manhattan College men's and women's track and field team kicked off its 2002 season as they hosts the Manhattan College Pentathlon and Throwers Invitational held in Draddy Gymnasium today.


Senior Thomas Jacob Freeman (East Greenwich, RI) threw a qualifying NCAA B Mark in the Weight Throw with a toss of 21.31m to capture first place. In second place, junior Daniel Gazzola (East Greenwich, RI) qualified for the IC4A Indoor Championships with a mark of 17.70m, while freshman Michael Freeman (East Greenwich, RI) who placed fourth (16.26m), senior Chuck Harklerode (Clinton Corners, NY), who placed fifth (15:53m), sophomore Jean Afflack (Elmont, NY), who placed sixth (14.90m), senior Michael Pellet (Croton, NY), who did not place but threw 14.60m, all qualified for the Metropolitan Indoor Championships. Pellet also qualified for the MET in the men's Shot Put after throwing a winning 15.30m. Afflack placed second in the Shot Put with a MET qualifying mark of 14.97m.

Senior Rajne Svenssohn (Karlstad, Sweden) was crowned champion and qualified for IC4A's in the Pentathlon after totaling 3877 points. Svenssohn also qualified for the IC4A in the 55m Hurdles with a time of 7.3 seconds and for the MET in the High Jump with a leap of 1.88m. Before leaving the competition due to injury, freshman Nils Pettersson (Boden, Sweden) qualified for the MET in the 55m Hurdles (7.9) and in the Long Jump (6.69m).

In the women's Weight Throw, all of the top six finishers qualified for the MET. St. John's Blessing Egwu won the Weight Throw with a toss of 15.25m, while senior Lauren Primerano (Trenton, NJ) placed second with a mark of 14.55m. Freshman Marina Liander (Staten Island, NY), who placed sixth with a mark of 12.07m in the Weight Throw, threw an impressive second place 12.17m in the Shot Put to also qualify for the MET.

In the women's Pentathlon, St. John's Axum Gaines captured first place and qualified for the ECAC Indoor Championships after totaling 3627 points. Junior Karin Larsson (Garphyttan, Sweden) qualified for her first ECAC Pentathlon today after accumulating 3389 points. Larsson also qualified for the MET in the Shot Put (12.36m), High Jump (1.60m) and in the Long Jump (5.26m). Sophomore Stephanie Morris (Plainville, MA) placed sixth in the Pentathlon with a personal best 2925 points.

The Jaspers will return to action next Sunday, December 8th when they compete in the Princeton Invitational held at Jadwin Gymnasium.

2002 Manhattan College Pentathlon/Throws Invitational Final Results

Draddy Gymnasium

Riverdale, NY

Sunday, December 1, 2002



MEN'S Weight Throw

Place Mark Name School Qualified

1st 21.31m Thomas Jacob Freeman Manhattan NCAA B Mark

2nd 17.70m Daniel Gazzola Manhattan IC4A

3rd 16.92m Jason Goulart St. John's IC4A

4th 16.26m Michael Freeman Manhattan MET

5th 15.53m Chuck Harklerode Manhattan MET

6th 14.90m Jean Afflack Manhattan MET


WOMEN's Weight Throw

Place Mark Name School Qualified

1st 15.25m Blessing Egwu St. John's MET

2nd 14.55m Lauren Primerano Manhattan MET

3rd 14.54m Brandy Bradford St. John's MET

4th 14.20m Judy Owens St. John's MET

5th 12.27m Nenjae Gibson St. John's MET

6th 12.07m Marina Liander Manhattan MET

MEN'S Shot Put

Place Mark Name School Qualified

1st 15.30m Michael Pellet Manhattan MET

2nd 14.97m Jean Afflack Manhattan MET

3rd 13.96m Daniel Gazzola Manhattan

4th 12.49m Declan Mulcahy Manhattan

5th 11.37m K. Guerin St. John's

6th 10:35m Roland Varriale Manhattan

WOMEN'S Shot Put

Place Mark Name School Qualified

1st 13.10m Judy Owens St. John's MET

2nd 12.17m Marina Liander Manhattan MET

3rd 12.09m Blessing Eqwu St. John's MET

4th 11.34m Brandy Bradford St. John's

5th 9.13m Grace Zolland St. John's

6th 8.98m Nenjae Gibson St. John's

MEN'S Pentathlon

Place Points Name School Qualified

1st 3877 Rajne Svenssohn Manhattan IC4A

2nd 3543 Tredor O'Grady Rutgers

3rd 3459 Dave Klics Rutgers

4th 3334 Kevin Campbell Rutgers

5th 2966 Chris Stadler Rutgers

6th 2816 Steve Clifford Farmingdale

WOMEN'S Pentathlon

Place Points Name School Qualified

1st 3627 Axum Gaines St. John's ECAC

2nd 3389 Karin Larsson Manhattan ECAC

3rd 3301 Angela Messerschmidt Rutgers

4th 3218 Alina Abramova St. John's

5th 3215 Danielle Hobson Rutgers

6th 2925 Stephanie Morris Manhattan