Pittsburgh, Pa. ? Three Colonials were crowned individual champions and the Robert Morris University men's track and field team finished in fourth place at the 2008 Northeast Conference Outdoor Championships on Sunday at the RMU Island Sports Center in Pittsburgh, Pa.
The Colonials capped off the two-day event with 102 total points. Sacred Heart, behind the talents of NEC Outdoor MVP and Most Outstanding Track Performer Arman Dixon, took the team title with 164.50. Monmouth finished in a close second with 157.50 points while Saint Francis (Pa.) placed third with 112.
Robert Morris improved in Sunday's competition by adding 75 points to day one's total of 27, including 30 from gold medal finishes of seniors Jeff Witmyer (West Lawn, Pa. / Wilson) and Phillips Thompson (New Castle, Pa. / Shenango) and sophomore Nasim Siddeeq (New Hampton, N.Y. / Goshen Central).
Witmyer defended his NEC high jump title by beating out William Valez of Saint Francis (Pa.) for first place with a bar-clearing height of 2.01m. Both athletes entered the meet with the same seed height of 2.10m, but Witmyer's height prevailed as Valez tied Bryan Peliuca of Wagner for second.
Thompson improved on his silver medal finish from Saturday's 10,000-meter run by taking the top honor in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. The veteran distance runner crossed the tape in 9:20.71, leaving a gap of almost nine seconds between him and the next closest competitor.
Siddeeq garnished his first NEC outdoor gold medal by snapping a 13-year old meet record in the triple jump. The second-year jumper posted a mark of 15.56m to break the NEC record of 15.11m set by Aaron Finley of Rider in 1995.
Sophomores Anthony Trunzo (Trafford, Pa. / Penn Trafford) and Duri Greene (Wyndmoor, Pa. / Springfield) captured a pair of silver medals. Trunzo placed second in the pole vault with a mark of 4.50m while Greene picked up the hardware in the javelin thanks to an IC4A qualifying distance of 59.68m.
Putting up a case for rookie of the year, freshman Charles Gladman (Philadelphia, Pa. / Cardinal Dougherty) posted IC4A times in the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes. Gladman finished fifth in the 100-meter with a time of 10.84 and second in the 200-meter at 21.52.
For the Colonials who qualified during the season, postseason competition continues with the 2008 IC4A Championships beginning on Friday, May 16 in Boston, Mass. Please check back at www.rmucolonials.com for additional details as the meet approaches.
