RESULTS

Bethlehem, Pa. (Feb. 25, 2012) – Junior Melissa Fellenbaum (Mount Joy, Pa./Hempfield) won the women's pole vault by nearly a foot and a half at the Middle Atlantic Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships Saturday at Lehigh University leading Alvernia University to an eighth-place finish.  Head Coach Kilgore noted that, "everyone competed very well today.  We were looking to cap the indoor season off well and feel that we were able to do that.  Our student athletes were able to earn 17 All MAC honors including two Conference Champions.  As in any championship meet there are ups and downs, but we had a lot more ups than downs today and had many athletes outperform seeds and earn spots in the podium."

The Crusaders earned 10 points for Fellenbaum's win and got six points from the women's weight throw with Amanda Searle (Mullica Hill, N.J./Clearview Regional) finishing fourth with a toss of 12.70m and Rachel Heisler (Boyertown, Pa./Boyertown) .13m behind her in fifth.   Both ladies improved on their season-best with Searle going .13m further than her best throw at Kutztown and Heisler adding .66m to her previous best.

Kilgore said that "Melissa gave us a little scare, but hand a very solid day.  She has worked very hard this season and Coach Germani has done a great job with her preparation.  Hopefully she can keep building on this as the rest of the indoor postseason rolls around."  Fellenbaum took a pass on the first seven heights of the meet and fouled on her first two attempts at 3.20m.  None of the other competitors was able to clear that height, so Fellenbaum earned the gold when she cleared the bar on her third and final attempt.  She cleared the next two heights (3.35 and 3.50m) on successive attempts then knocked off the bar on three straight attempts at a personal best of 3.72m.

Fellenbaum was named First Team All-MAC and Searle and Heisler were named Second Team in their respective events.

MAC Indoor Championship Team Scores

1. Lebanon Valley	136
2. Messiah	98
3. Elizabethtown	92
4. Misericordia	91
5. Widener	58
6. DeSales	31
7. Delaware Valley	25
8. Alvernia	16
9. Albright	5
10. Manhattanville	2