April 7, 2007
GAINESVILLE, Fla. and PHILADELPHIA - Navy men's track & field junior middle distance runner Paul Harris (Woodbury, Minn.) posted a NCAA East Region Championship qualifying mark in the 800-meter run to highlight five postseason qualifying marks at two meets this weekend. The team split up its squad to compete at the two-day Florida Relays in Gainesville, Fla., and Penn Invitational in Philadelphia on Saturday.
At the Florida Relays on Friday, Harris crossed the finish line in 1:48.86 to place fourth overall and second among collegiate competitors, only 0.12-second away from Tim Harris' time for Miami. Paul Harris' effort ranks as the second-fastest time in school history and is 0.19-second away from the program record he set at last year's NCAA regional championship. The Navy junior currently owns eight of the ten-fastest times in program history.
In the same race, Navy junior middle distance runner Craig Meekins (Baldwin, N.Y.) met the IC4A standard with his sixth-place time of 1:50.89. His showing on Friday was a personal record by more than a full second.
One week after winning the 3,000-meter steeplechase in Annapolis, junior distance runner John Olsen (Staten Island, N.Y.) came in third in the event at the Florida Relays on Saturday with an IC4A time of 9:14.63.
In the final event of the Florida Relays, Navy's 4x400-meter relay team posted an IC4A time of 3:12.74 to finish fourth.
Highlighting Navy's performance at the Penn Invitational was junior thrower Darryl Hunter (Des Moines, Iowa), as he won the shot put with an IC4A distance for the fourth time in as many outdoor meets this season. With temperatures struggling to get above freezing, Hunter uncorked a toss of 51'5-3/4" (15.69 meters) to top the field.
Junior Ben Kozy (Houston, Texas) won the 1,500-meter run with a time of 3:53.13, while classmate Jeff Sarchione (Alliance, Ohio) followed with a 3:54.55 clocking for fourth place. Sophomore Gavin MacGarva (Bellevue, Wash.) claimed first in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a 9:42.89 showing and junior Brandon Vier (Cypress, Texas) posted an 11.07-second effort in the 100-meter dash to finish second.
Competing in the event for the first time during the outdoor season, Navy's 4x800-meter relay team earned first-place honors with a time of 7:52.74.
The Midshipmen will return home to host Army in the annual Star Meet next Saturday at Ingram Field in Annapolis. Navy defeated Army in the last outdoor Star Meet held in Annapolis and the Midshipmen posted a 95-86 win over the Black Knights during the indoor Star Meet two months ago in West Point.
