Long Branch, N.J. ? May 3, 2009 ? The Robert Morris University women's track and field team traveled to Monmouth University this past weekend to compete in the 2009 Northeast Conference Championship and finished fifth out of 11 teams with 70.33 points.

En route to the fifth-place finish, Erica Schmidt (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Baldwin), Gabriella Rinehart (Norristown, Pa. / Norristown Area) and Samantha Simile (Washington, Pa. /. Chartiers ? Houston) all captured first-place finishes, which qualified them for the ECAC Championship meet and the NCAA East Regional Qualifiers. Schmidt started things off with a first-place finish in the pole vault on day one by reaching a height of 10'10”.

Rinehart was one of only two freshmen to grab gold at the meet. In the hammer throw she launched a throw of 161'06” to win the event. She also performed well in the shot put and lobbed a throw of 39'5.25” to finish fifth.

Simile tallied the Colonials third first-place finish when she crossed the finish line in a season-best time of 1:04.03 in the 400-meter hurdles. She also participated in the 100-meter hurdles and placed sixth with a time of 15.70.

Emily Ingle (Tyrone, Pa. / Tyrone) represented the distance runners and placed fourth in the 1500-meter run with a time of 4:47.00.

Tara Maxwell (Butler, Pa. / Butler) competed in the discus event and finished second with a toss of 130'09”. Throwers Ashley Turici (Zelienople, Pa. / Seneca Valley) and Rachel Herbstritt (Wilcox, Pa. / Johnsonburg) fared well in the javelin event and placed second and fifth, respectively. Turici recorded a toss of 130'07” and Herbstritt notched a mark of 116'04”.

The Colonials who qualified for the ECAC Championships will return to action on May 16 to compete in Princeton, N.J.

--sidga02@rmu.edu--