Sports Information Department – 112 Dods Hall
Phone (716) 673-3100 / Fax (716) 673-3136

CONTACT: Jerry Reilly,
Sports Information Director

DATE: Fri., Jan. 18, 2008

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Track & Field

Phillips Invitational starts 11 a.m. Saturday

FREDONIA, N.Y. -- The lone home meet of the track and field season, the Mary Phillips Invitational, will be held Saturday inside the Steele Hall Fieldhouse.

The Blue Devil men's and women's teams will play host to teams from Allegheny College, Buffalo State, and Erie Community College starting at 11 a.m. Several Blue Devil alumni have also indicated they will be competing in the open meet.

"We are looking forward to getting the season started," Fredonia State head coach Nolan Swanson said. "Our roster only has one senior guy and three senior women, so the team is very young and needs every experience possible." The Blue Devils have one indoor meet under their belts this winter. They competed Dec. 7 and Dec. 8 at the Kent State Golden Flash Gala.

Swanson said junior thrower Julia Hopson (Poughkeepsie/Arlington) is ranked No. 4 in the nation in the women's 20-pound weight throw. She is scheduled to compete in that event early in the meet.

In addition, Swanson is looking forward to seeing how well junior Geoffrey Lesch-Wragge (Fredonia) performs in the middle distances. The men's 800-meter run is tentatively scheduled for mid-afternoon.

"Both (Hopson and Lesch-Wragge)," Swanson said, "have the ability to get an NCAA qualifier."

There has been a change in the Blue Devil schedule. They will be competing Jan. 26 at Denison University Lid-Lifter, instead of at Baldwin-Wallace as originally scheduled.

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Click here for the Mary Phillips Invitational schedule

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