Sports Information Department – 112 Dods Hall
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CONTACT: Jerry Reilly,
Sports Information Director

DATE: Fri., Dec. 7, 2007

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Track & Field

Indoor season opens at Kent State Golden Flash Gala

FREDONIA, N.Y. -- Fredonia State opens its indoor track and field season today and Saturday with the first of six pre-championship meets this winter.

The Blue Devils will participate in the annual Golden Flash Gala at Kent State University, the traditional opening meet for them and scores of other collegiate teams in the region.

It also could represent the starting point for another All-American season by junior thrower Julia Hopson (Poughkeepsie/Arlington). Last year at the same meet, Hopson earned NCAA provisional status in the 20-pound weight throw -- the beginning of what ended with a sixth-place finish at the NCAA Division III championships last March. Only one other underclassmen finished higher in the event.

"Julia is ready to go this season," head coach Nolan Swanson said. "She came in stronger and fitter than ever ... She is a serious contender for an NCAA title."

Hopson will compete in the weight throw today and the shot put at 11 a.m. Saturday.

In the women's distance events, sophomore Jessica Bennett (Rochester/West Irondequoit) is entered in the 5,000 meters today. An injury limited her to just one indoor meet last winter. She bounced back during the outdoor season and eventually won the SUNYAC 3,000-meter steeplechase championship.

Samantha Ellwood (Hamburg), one of two seniors on the team and, with Hopson, a 2007-08 co-captain, has run the second fastest 10,000-meter time in the history of the women's program. She will look to improve upon that as well as on her 3,000- and 5,000-meter times during the winter season.

Swanson said the other senior, sprinter Nicole C. Smith (Amherst), will return to the 200 and 400 races, while junior Trisha Ippolito (Angola/Lake Shore) is again slated for the 800 meters and the mile.

Among the top freshmen women are RaeLee Prince (Franklinville) in the 400 and the 800; Kate Brett (Webster/Webster-Schroeder) and Madeline Bensley (Albion) in the sprints; and throwers Amanda Button (Stanley/Marcus Whitman), Chesea Collins (Allegany/Allegany-Limestone), and Kanacia James (Neversink/Tri-Valley). Brett also specializes in the hurdles.

On the men's side, Swanson is counting on four upperclassmen to lead the way. Two of them are jumpers. A senior, Justin Schwab (Killbuck/Salamanca) was fourth in the high jump at the 2007 New York State Collegiate Track Conference meet, while sophomore Mike Kelley (Geneseo) was fifth in the triple jump at the same meet.

Also returning are sophomore Tom Williams (Queensbury) in the distance events, and sophomore Steve Scherer (Hamburg/Frontier) in the throws.

Swanson expects several freshman to make contributions this season. Dwight Barlow (Buffalo/Hutch Tech) specializes in the high jump and the triple jump. Andy Dunscombe (Endicott/Union-Endicott), Vincent Granata (Fredonia/Falbrook, Calif.), and twin brothers Josh and Nick Guarino (Berger/Byron-Bergen) are distance runners who already participated in cross country in the fall. Another cross country vet, David "Mac" McMahill (Hemlock/Livonia) has shown promise in mid-distance runs.

The other top newcomer is junior Geoffrey Lesch-Wragge (Fredonia), a transfer student and 2005 state high school 800-meter champ.

NOTES -- The Golden Flash Gala will open with the women’s pentathlon at 2 p.m. today, followed by the men’s heptathlon at 2:15 p.m., and four other events later in the day. Saturday begins with field events at 10 a.m., coinciding with the start of running events. There is no team scoring ... Among the pre-championship meets is the annual Mary Phillips Invitational, scheduled for Jan. 19 starting at 11 a.m. in the Steele Hall Fieldhouse. It's the only home meet of the indoor season. There are no outdoor home meets ... The Blue Devils' other road meets are Jan. 26 at Case Western Reserve, Feb. 1 at Rochester Institute of Technology, Feb. 8-9 at the New York City Armory (the New Balance Collegiate Invitational), and Feb. 15 at Baldwin-Wallace ... The first championship meet is Feb. 23 -- the SUNYAC championships at Hobart and William Smith colleges in Geneva. The other championship meets: the NYSCTC (Feb. 24 and Feb. 29/March 1), the ECAC (March 8-9), and the NCAA (March 14-15).

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