PHILADELPHIA (12/10/03) -- Strength in the long sprints and distance events, along with the school record holding 4x400 relay team should keep the 2003-04 Saint Joseph's men's track team in the hunt for the Atlantic 10 Championship once again. The 4x400 team welcomes all four members back from a group that set both the indoor and outdoor program records, won indoor and outdoor conference championships and was sixth at the NCAA Regionals. Seniors Nick Carras and Jerry Puryear, along with junior Doug Rick and sophomore Andrew Thomas, put together one of the best relay seasons ever on Hawk Hill. With all back for one more year together, the sky is the limit for this foursome. "When you add in the back-up strength of seniors Kile Garguilo and Chris Koneski, there's no doubt that this is our strongest area and perhaps, the strongest that SJU has ever been in this event group," head coach Mike Glavin said. "Every meet is a new adventure for me as a coach as to just how far these guys can take this thing. They make the goals, I just get them ready to pursue those goals." Puryear had quite a year on his own in 2002-03, finishing sixth at the NCAA Eastern Regional in the 400m hurdles. The senior also was an outdoor Atlantic 10 Champion and finished second at the IC4As in the event. Carras, an academic all-conference and all-district performer, was a solid contributor in the sprint events, while Rick and Thomas stepped onto the scene in dramatic fashion. The duo won the Atlantic 10 indoor 400m and 500m, respectively, last winter. The Hawks graduated two-time A-10 indoor 5000m champion Tim Fisher and three-time conference champion Brian Rosetti in the distance events, but welcome back sophomore Andre Laboy and a pack of runners from the conference runners-up in cross country. Laboy won the conference title in cross country and placed 76th at the national championships. He also won bronze at the A-10 Championships both indoor and outdoor (3000m and 10,000m) and was a junior national qualifier outdoors in the 10,000m. "Andre has started to take the long distance events to a new level here on Hawk Hill," Glavin said. "His cross country season was one of the best, if not the best, that we've seen at St. Joe's." Saint Joseph's also welcomes back sophomores Rich Anderson, Mike DiDio, Joe Mohn and junior Brad Schmidt to the middle distance fold. Schmidt finished off last season with 800m and 1500m performances that will lead this strong contingent. DiDio was having a strong fall until a broken metatarsal sidelined him for the final month of the season. He finished fifth in the mile and seventh in the 1500m at the indoor and outdoor conference Championships, respectively. Mohn, an all-A-10 harrier in 2002, and Anderson, are key cogs in the 800/1000/1500m range and should improve on their performance from last season. Junior Collin Martin (IC4A qualifier in the steeplechase) returns as well. "Schmidt came on with a rush at the end of 2003. His 1:50.8 (split) was long-a-coming, but his 3:50.63 at Princeton was a bit of a pleasant surprise," Glavin said. "Add DiDio's 3:53 and 1:51.8 (split) returning from injury, and we've got two big legs on the middle distance relays." A talented group of freshman has hit Hawk Hill running this year. Teddy Meyers had a successful cross country campaign and finished third in the state in the 3200m last year. Sprinter Jerome Harris was a two-time state champion in the 55m and 110m hurdles, along with a New England championship in the indoor 55m. "We're hoping to see Teddy step up to run with Andre in the distance group," Glavin said. "He definitely has the ability. As a duo, they should really cover that high end of the track events for us in championship style." The Hawks again will be among the Atlantic 10's elite in the indoor and outdoor track circuits. How far SJU will climb the ladder of the conference standings still remains to be seen, but with a core of returnees back on the track, the rest of the conference should keep an eye on Saint Joseph's.