May 7, 2007

CHARLOTTE, NC - The Saint Joseph's men's track squad took seventh place at the 2007 Atlantic 10 Outdoor track and Field Championships this weekend at the Irwin Belk track & Field Center in Charlotte, NC. The Hawks finished with 54 points for the weekend. Rhode Island ran away with the competition, scoring 230 points. Chase Eckard of Charlotte was named the meet's Most Outstanding Track Performer, while URI's Ryan McCarthy earned Most Outstanding Field Performer honors. The Most Outstanding Rookie was Derek Peterson of Rhode Island, and the Rams' John Copeland was tabbed as the Coach of the Year.

For Saint Joseph's, graduate student Mike DiDio earned All-Conference Second Team honors in both the 800m and the 1,500m, finishing second to Eckard in both races. DiDio's times of 1:52.62 (800m) and 3:55.69 (1,500m) were just .14 and .05 seconds behind the winner. Also performing well in those races were sophomore Brendan Kearney and senior Teddy Meyers. Kearney took fifth in the 800m with a time of 1:53.98, while Meyers was seventh in the 1,500m, clocking a 4:00.07. Meyers also placed fourth in the 5,000m with a 14:41.80.

Junior Richard Ryan just missed out on all-conference accolades, as his time of 9:12.45 in the 3,000m Steeplechase placed him third. Junior William Rowland turned in a third-place finish as well, running a 31:11.84 in the 10,000m. Also finishing in the points for the Hawks were freshman Drew Brandt (seventh in the 400m), senior Matthew McClure (sixth in the shot put and eighth in the discus), and the 4x100 (sixth), 4x400 (fifth), and 4x800 (seventh) relay squads.

Saint Joseph's Results
200m - Matthew Weaver, 23.81
400m - 7. Drew Brandt, 49.71; Joe Witiw, 49.91; Weaver, 50.49
800m - 2. Mike DiDio, 1:52.62; 5. Brendan Kearney, 1:53.98
1,500m - 2. DiDio, 3:55.69; 7. Teddy Meyers, 4:00.07; Jonathan Sclafani, 4:15.00
3,000m Steeplechase - 3. Richard Ryan, 9:12.45
5,000m - 4. Meyers, 14:41.80; Ryan, 15:19.87; Justin Heinze, 16:24.47
10,000m - 3. William Rowland, 31:11.84; Shawn Duffy, 32:10.35; Chris Savino, 32:59.06
400m Hurdles - Steven Philbrook, 57.27
Shot Put - 6. Matthew McClure, 42-9 ¼
Discus - 8. Matthew McClure - 130-0 ¼
4x100 Relay - 6. SJU, 44.16
4x400 Relay - 5. SJU, 3:20.98
4x800 Relay - 7. SJU, 7:49.10

Team Standings
1. Rhode Island 230
2. Charlotte 149
3. La Salle 125
4. Duquesne 83
5. Temple 61
6. Fordham 59
7. Saint Joseph's 54
8. Massachusetts 48
9. Xavier 21
10. Richmond 17
11. Saint Louis 11