March 17, 2007
Results
SAN DIEGO - Navy men's track & field junior thrower Darryl Hunter (Des Moines, Iowa) won two events with IC4A-qualifying marks to lead the Midshipmen to a first-place finish at the Point Loma Invitational to open the outdoor slate on Saturday in San Diego.
Navy topped the field with 141 points, while Point Loma Nazarene finished second with 133 points and Baker rounded out the scoring with 38 points. Highlighted by Hunter's efforts in the shot put and discus throw, the Midshipmen racked up 48 of their 141 points in the four throwing events.
Hunter opened his day with a toss of 53'11" (16.43 meters) in the shot put to pace the field. Two hours later, the Navy junior competed in the discus throw, where he out-distanced the competition with a 156'7" (47.72 meters) effort.
Junior Bo Lawson (Fredon, N.J.) joined Hunter with an IC4A-qualifying mark in a throwing event on Satuday. Lawson uncorked a career-best toss of 202'3" (61.64 meters) in the javelin throw to win the event. Freshman Mark Van Orden (Morris Plains, N.J.) accounted for Navy's other throwing victory, as he topped the field with a mark of 164'5" (50.11 meters) in the hammer throw.
One week after earning All-America status in the 800-meter run at the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championship, junior middle distance runner Paul Harris (Woodbury, Minn.) won the 800-meter run with an IC4A-qualifying time of 1:51.94. His showing on Saturday was nearly nine seconds better than the second-place clocking.
Senior distance runner Michael Niemi (Duluth, Minn.) registered a career-best time in the 1,500-meter run with a 4:01.82 showing. His effort to open the outdoor season was nearly five seconds better than his previous career mark.
Two Navy freshmen also tallied victories on the track in their first-collegiate outdoor meet. Vince Carpentier (Branchburg, N.J.) won the 400-meter run by more than a second, crossing the finish line in 49.48 seconds. Matthew Hanley (Rapid City, S.D.) registered a 15.42-second clocking in the 110-meter hurdles to lead all competitors on Saturday.
Navy's relay teams enjoyed a successful start to the season, winning both events. The 4x100-meter relay posted a time of 44.55 seconds to claim the event title, followed by a 3:23.02, first-place showing in the 4x400-meter relay to close out the meet.
The Midshipmen (2-0) return to Annapolis to host American and Maryland next Saturday, March 24, at Ingram Field.
