Walt Murphy\'s News and Results Service
Eastern Track
Eastern Track
Vol. 29-December 30, 2005
2005 Eastern Athletes of the Year
College Men--Spyridon Jullien
Virginia Tech junior Spyridon Jullien won NCAA titles indoors (weight throw) and outdoors (hammer) to earn recognition as Eastern Track's Athlete of year for 2005.
In addition to his two NCAA wins, Jullien, a native of Athens, Greece, also won indoor and outdoor ACC titles and set an Eastern Collegiate Record of 76-3 1/2 in the 35-pound weight throw.
Also enjoying a fine year was Brian Mondschein, Jullien's fellow junior at Virginia Tech, who led the East in the pole vault, finisheg 5th at the NCAA Indoor Championships and 2nd outdoors. Mondschein, the grandson of Irv "Moon" Mondschein (a 2-time NCAA high jump champion and 1948 Olympian in the decathlon), jumped 17-8 1/2 indoors and outdoors.
Liberty's Josh McDougal had an excellent freshman year, finishing 13th at the 2004 NCAA X-Country Championships and 5th in the 3000-meters at the NCAA Indoor Championships.
Dartmouth senior Mustafa Abdur-Rahim was the dominant decathlete in the East, finishing 2nd and 6th, respectively, at the NCAA and U.S. Championships.
College Women--Caroline Bierbaum
In her first full year in the sport, E.T.'s female Athlete of the Year is Columbia junior Caroline Bierbaum, who earned All-American honors in all three NCAA seasons.
Bierbaum started off in the fall of 2004 by finishing 3rd in X-Country, then placed 2nd in the Indoor 5,000 and 2nd in the Outdoor 10,000.
Also performing well during the year were West Virginia senior Megan Metcalfe, the NCAA Outdoor Champion at 5,000-meters; Roberts Wesleyan senior Jen Stuczynski, who set an Eastern Record 14-3 1/4 while winning the pole vault at the U.S. Indoor Championships; Penn State junior Jennifer Leatherman, who set an Eastern Record in the 20-pound weight throw(69-11 1/2) and was an All-American indoors and outdoors; Duke's Shannon Rowbury and Harvard frosh Lindsey Scherf, both of whom, like Bierbaum, earned All-American honors in x-country, indoors, and outdoors; and Pittsburgh senior Amanda Walker, who was an indoor and outdoor All-American in the shot put, and briefly held the Eastern Record in the weight throw (broken by Leatherman).
H.S. Boys--Ryan Whiting
Senior Ryan Whiting (Central Dauphin,Pa) was the #1 U.S. prep in the shot put and discus to earn selection as the Eastern Athlete of the Year.
Whiting, now a freshman at Arizona State, set an Eastern Indoor Record of 68-11 1/4 in the shot, then threw 70-feet even outdoors, just missing fellow Pennsylvanian Ron Semkiw's 33-year old Eastern Outdoor mark of 70-1 3/4. Whitng also won the shot put at the U.S. Junior Championships and was runnerup in the discus.
Other standouts in 2005 included Junior Michael Morrison (Great Bridge,Va), who won the pole vault at the U.S. Junior Championships (and was the #1 prep in the decathlon); 1/2-milers Rob Novak (Bordentown Regional,NJ) and Justin Craddock, who ran 1:49.84(USL) and 1:50.85, respectively; John Martinez (North Rockland,NY), whose 9:06.60 was the fastest steeplechase time by a prep in 21 -years; and John Freeman and Matthew Maloney, who were first-team All-Americans in the hammer and javelin, respectively.
H.S. Girls--Sarah Bowman
Strong competition here, but Sarah Bowman (Fauquier,Va) wins out as the female Eastern prep Athlete of the Year for 2005.
Now a freshman at Tennessee, Bowman set a National Indoor Record in the 1000-meters (2:43.40) and led the East outdoors in the 800(2:05.27), 1500(4:17.61/#2-AT East), Mile(4:36.95/#2-AT East)) and 3200m(10:16.03). Her mile mark missed Kim Gallagher's 23-year old Eastern Record by only .01s.
Bowman beat out two others who would have been worthy choices for AOY in other years. Current Notre Dame frosh Mary Saxer (Lancaster,NY) raised the U.S. Indoor Record in the pole vault 6 times, topping out at 14-2.
Nicole Leach (West Catholic,Pa) ran 53.04 for 400-meters indoors, a time bettered only by Sanya Richards' National Record of 52.10 and Leach's own 52.19 that she ran as a junior. Outdoors, she won the 400-hurdles at the Penn Relays and the U.S. Junior Championships. Leach is now a frosh at UCLA.
Others who excelled in 2005: Junior Krystal Cantey (Winslow Township,NJ) beat Leach at the Nike Outdoor Nationals and had the fastest time in the East in the 400-hurdles(56.83); Tiffany Maskulinski (Iriquois,NY), Saxer's training partner, set an Outdoor U.S. Record in the pole vault(14-0); Junior Aislinn Ryan (Warwick Valley,NY) was the 2004 Foot Locker X-Country Champion and had excellent indoor and outdoor seasons.
PREVIOUS E.T. ATHLETES OF THE YEAR
(Note: there was no selection for women from 1979-1981. Starting in 1984, the voting was restricted to collegians.)
COLLEGIATE
MEN
1977 Mark Belger Villanova 800
1978 Renaldo Nehemiah Maryland Hurdles
1979 Renaldo Nehemiah Maryland Hurdles
1980 Don Paige Villanova 800-1500
1981 Sydney Maree Villanova 1500-5000
1982 John Gregorek Georgetown 1500-Steeple
1983 Elliott Quow Rutgers Sprints
1984 Edwin Koech Richmond 800
1985 Abdi Bile George Mason 800-1500
1986 Lee McRae Pittsburgh Sprints
1987 Abdi Bile George Mason 800-1500
1988 Paul Ereng Virginia 800
1989 Paul Ereng Virginia 800
1990 Istvan Bagyula George Mason Pole Vault
1991 Istvan Bagyula George Mason Pole Vault
1992 Istvan Bagyula George Mason Pole Vault
1993 Brian Milne Penn State Discus
1994 Erik Nedeau Northeastern 800-1500
1995 Greg Haughton George Mason 400
1996 Julius Achon George Mason 800-1500
1997 Bryan Woodward Georgetown 800
1998 Kareem Archer Villanova 110h-400h
1999 Maurice Wignall George Mason 110h-lj
2000 Matt Lane William & Mary Distance
2001 Matt Lane William & Mary Distance
2002 Tora Harris Princeton High Jump
2003 Brian Chaput Penn Javelin
2004 Brian Chaput Penn Javelin
2005 Spyridon Julien Virginia Tech Weight/Hammer
WOMEN
1978 Jan Merrill Connecticut College 1500-3000
1982 Joan Benoit Distance
1983 Joan Benoit Distance
1984 Patty Bradley Villanova Hurdles
1985 Veronica McIntosh Villanova 800
1986 Wendy Vereen Morgan State Sprints
1987 Vicki Huber Villanova 1500-3000
1988 Vicki Huber Villanova 1500-3000
1989 Vicki Huber Villanova 1500-3000
1990 Meredith Rainey Harvard 800
1991 Sonia O\'Sullivan Villanova 1500-5000
1992 Diane Guthrie George Mason Multi
1993 Carole Zajac Villanova Distance
1994 Flirtisha Harris Seton Hall Sprints
1995 Diane Guthrie-Gresham George Mason Multi
1996 Jen Rhines Villanova Distance
1997 Trecia Smith Pittsburgh Multi
1998 Trecia Smith Pittsburgh Multi
1999 Carrie Tollefson Villanova 1500-5000
2000 Dora Gyorffy Harvard High Jump
2001 Dora Gyorffy Harvard High Jump
2002 Heather Sagan Liberty Mile
2003 Kate O'Neill Yale Distance
2004 Kim Smith Providence Distance
2005 Shannon Rowbury Duke 800-
HIGH SCHOOL
BOYS
1978 Sanya Owolabi Sleepy Hollow, NY Triple Jump
1979 Carl Lewis Willingboro, NJ Sprints,LJ
1980 Ray Brown St.Alban\'s, DC 800
1981 John Marshall Plainfield, NJ 800
1982 Clinton Davis Steel Valley, Pa 200-400
1983 Clinton Davis Steel Valley, Pa 200-400
1984 Patrick Mann Gar-Field, Va 400-hurdles
1985 Leroy Burrell Penn Wood, Pa Sprints,LJ
1986 William Reed Central, Pa 100-400
1987 William Reed Central, Pa 100-400
1988 Keith Holley Bayside, Va Long-Triple Jumps
1989 Dion Bentley Penn Hills, Pa Long Jump
1990 Eric Taylor-Perry Montclair, NJ High Jump
1991 Brian Milne Ft.LeBoeuf,Pa Discus
1992 Jermaine Lewis Roosevelt,Md Sprints
1993 Jermaine Stafford Franklin,Rochester,NY Sprints
1994 Deworski Odom Overbrook,Pa 100-110h
1995 Jerome Young Prince Tech,Ct 400
1996 Ron Dayne Overbrook,NJ Discus
1997 Sharif Karie W.Springfield,Va 800-1500
1998 Ato Modibo High Point,Md 200-400
1999 Jacob Freeman Bishop Hendricken,RI Hammer
2000 Rickey Harris Centreville,Va 400,110h,400h
2001 Alan Webb South Lakes,Va 800-Mile
2002 Glenn DiGiorgio Bayonne,NJ Shot Put-Discus
2003 Mike Morrison Willingboro,NJ High Jump
2004 LaShawn Merritt Wilson,Va 200-400
2005 Ryan Whiting Central Dauphin,Pa Shot-Discus
GIRLS
1983 Wendy Vereen Trenton Central, NJ Sprints
1984 Wendy Vereen Trenton Central, NJ Sprints
1985 Cathy Schiro Dover, NH Distance
1986 Kellie Roberts Central, Md 400-Hurdles
1987 Erin Keogh Langley, Va Mile-3000
1988 Dawn Bowles Neptune, NJ 100-Hurdles
1989 Monifa Taylor Truman, NY 100-Hurdles
1990 Tanya Hughes Great Mills, Md High Jump
1991 Monyetta Haynesworth Potomac,Va 100h-Long Jump
1992 Jawauna McMullen IS 324, Brooklyn,NY 800
1993 Jawauna McMullen Christ The King,NY 800
1994 LaTasha Colander Portsmouth,Va 100-hurdles
1995 Suziann Reid Roosevelt,Md 400
1996 Tamieka Grizzle George Washington,NY 800
1997 Charmaine Walker Plainfield,NJ 100h
1998 Keyon Soley Uniondale,NY 100-long jump
1999 Erin Sullivan Mt.Mansfield,Vt Distance
2000 Sheena Johnson Gar-Field,Va 100h,400h,lj,tj
2001 Erin Donohue Haddonfield,NJ Mile-3000
2002 Molly Huddle Notre Dame-Elmira,NY 1500-2M
2003 Ari Lambie Bromfield School,Ma 1500-2m
2004 Natasha Hastings A.P.Randolph,NY 200-400
2005 Sarah Bowman Fauquier,Va 800-mile