Results
OBERLIN, Ohio – Although Allegheny entered the 2011 NCAC Men's Outdoor Track & Field Championships short on numbers, the Blue and Gold were not short on talent is it proved during Friday's rain-soaked session. Thunder, lightening, and driving rain stole the headlines at the conference-wide meet while fantastic team efforts in the 400m and 10,000-meter runs triggered a strong opening performance for the Gators.
Junior
Taylor Throckmorton continued his stellar season by smashing the school record in the open quarter en route to the top seed in Saturday's finals. Throckmorton, who earned NCAC All-Conference Honorable Mention accolades with a third-place finish in the long jump (21'4.75”), broke the tape in the 400m with a time of 48.70, just missing on the conference's all-time mark while easily eclipsing the existing school record of 49.10 set by Aaron Rape in 2004. Freshman
Marc Funderlich also wielded an impressive kick. The first-year star ran 49.32 in posting the fastest time by a rookie in the conference this year while finishing fifth overall in the race.
Allegheny flexed its muscle in the 10,000m where it grabbed three of the top four places. The perennially strong distance crew looked great amid the terrible conditions, although senior
Chris Marker really shined. The All-American secured an NCAA provisional cut in the race while zooming through the finish in 31:06.41. Finishing 10 seconds off the conference record, Marker ran the race untested en route to a 26-second win. Fellow fourth-year harrier
Ryan Sullivan collected NCAC All-Conference Honorable Mention plaudits following a third-place finish (31:35.49) while junior Pat McLaughlin finished fourth (31:39.38).
In another unexpected highlight, freshman
Zach Filous finished seventh overall in the discus to pick up two more points for the Gator attack. Filous, who entered the meet with no seed, improved his distance on every throw and finished with a personal record of 118'8”.
The Gators are clinging to third place with one day left in the championships. Wabash has a solid lead in the race for the team crown (98.5), with Oberlin (48), Allegheny (29), and Ohio Wesleyan (27) leading the chase pack.
