Feb. 21, 2009
Results | Heptathlon Results 
ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Junior Mark Van Orden (Morris Plains, N.J.) and senior Chris Bordino (Gastonia, N.C.) both recorded career-best distances en route to a 1-2 sweep of the 35-lb. weight throw highlighting the Navy men's track and field team's efforts on the second day of the Patriot League Championships on Saturday at the Wesley A. Brown Field House.
The Mids currently stand in third place with 37 total points and head into Sunday's final day of action, just 10 points behind first-place Bucknell and six behind second-place Army.
Van Orden achieved a new career-best with his toss of 61'10-1/4" (18.85m) to capture his first indoor league crown (second overall), while Bordino, the 2008 league champion in the event, improved upon his personal-best distance in his third effort of the finals, recording a throw of 61'2" (18.64m) to finish as the runner-up and collect second-team all-league laurels.
"Mark and Chris were great for us today," said Navy head coach Stephen Cooksey. "Through all their hard work and dedication, they have really set the example for this year's team. For them to be putting up these distances and producing PR's week-in and week-out is a testament to the time and energy they have put into this program."
The Mids' standout duo, who together own the top-15 throws in the Patriot League this season, came out strong right out of the gate and set the tone for the competition by combining for five throws that landed past the 18-meter marker in their opening flight. In addition to his winning effort, Van Orden also uncorked a 61'5" (18.72m) toss on his first finals attempt.
It is the second consecutive year that the Midshipmen have gone 1-2 in the weight throw, only this year the order of finish was reversed. At last year's indoor meet held in Lewisburg, Pa., Bordino won the event courtesy of a 57'4-3/4" (17.49m) toss, while Van Orden followed in second with a then-PR of 56'6-1/2" (17.23 meters).
The Mids' also received a breakthrough effort from sophomore Nic Porter (Orleans, Ind.), who took fourth in the event with a career-best toss of 53'11" (16.43m). The distance smashed Porter's previous PR entering the weekend's competition - 49'11" (15.22m).
"We were very excited to come out of the weight with three pointscorers," said Cooksey. "For Nic to build that much on his PR on one day - is a terrific job on his part."
The Midshipmen's 4x800m quartet of senior Andrew Grant (Athens, Ga.), sophomore David Ash (Williamston, Mich.) and freshmen Dominic Della Pelle (Kennett Square, Pa.) and Cody Rome (Eagle, Idaho) earned second-place points in a closely-contested race with a strong, IC4A-showing and team season-best in 7:37.80.
On the race's third leg, Grant made his move over the final 200-meters to give the Navy foursome the lead into the final exchange. Della Pelle, the Mids' standout freshman, ran a strong anchor, maintaining the lead right into the final stages of the race before the Patriot League's top-ranked 800m runner Army's Andrew Ferrara surged ahead to give the Black Knights the victory by a margin 1.03 seconds.
Freshman Brian Zitterkopf (Pace, Fla.) put the finishing touches on a strong heptathlon effort, earning fourth-place honors with a total of 4,532 points. Zitterkopf's best effort in the Saturday's events (60-meter hurdles, pole vault, 1,000-meter run) came in the 60-hurdles where the Navy freshman produced 735 points with a 9.05 clocking.
In the 5,000m race, Navy received point-scoring efforts from a pair of Midshipmen in sophomore Matthew DeVillers (Menomonee Falls, Wis.) and senior Bill Prom (New Berlin, Wis.). De Villers took fifth with an IC4A mark of 14:40.91, while Prom finished behind him in sixth with an IC4A showing of his own with a time of 14:43.53.
Meanwhile in the 60-meter hurdles, Navy junior Matthew Hanley (Rapid City, S.D.) appears poised to duplicate his second-place effort from last year's league meet after just missing a PR with a season-best time of 8.21 seconds during Saturday's prelims.
Headed into Sunday's final, Hanley is seeded second behind Army's Domonick Sylve, who ran a Field House-record 8.02 on Saturday.
"I thought we came out and performed fairly well today," said Cooksey. "We got some individual performances that we were looking for. Obviously, the throwers carried us, but I thought the 4x800 team ran very well as well as Matt Hanley in the hurdles.
"And although he just missed qualifying, I really was excited with what I saw out of freshman David Wright in the 60m and 200m today."
Sunday's men's action kicks off at 12 noon with mile run.
Men's Team Rankings
1) Bucknell 472) Army 433) Navy 374) Lehigh 335) American 146) Lafayette 67) Holy Cross 48) Colgate 2
Sunday's heat sheets are available atPL Championships - Day Three
### GO NAVY! ###
