PA athletes were making their presence known at college conference meets last weekend.
At the 2005 Atlantic Coast Conference indoor championships Feb 17-19 at the University of North Carolina, former stars from Harrisburg, McDowell and Penn Wood performed very well. Harrisburg's Dominique Darden captured the 200 in an NCAA provisional 24.07, and was 2nd in the 60 Hurdles in a provisional 8.32 seconds. Former PIAA state champ Sheena Gordon of McDowell, a junior at North Carolina, was 2nd in the High Jump, clearing 6-01.50, an automatic NCAA qualifer. And former Penn Wood star Danielle Rodgers was 2nd in the 800 in 2:11.50.
At the Big East meet in Syracuse NY, the Women's Most Outstanding Track Performer was former Nazareth Academy star Maureen McCandless, who has been absolutely thriving at Pittsburgh. She won two of the three longest races, taking the 3000 in 9:23.32, and the 5000 in 16:09.34. The senior held off two Notre Dame runners, one of them a multiple state champ in PA, Stephanie Madia, who was second in 9:25.12 in the 3k. The 5k by McCandless is an auto qualifier, while the 3k is provisional. Madia's 3k was a provisional. She also ran 4:52.28 in the Mile to finish 2nd.
