Moon Township, Pa. - The Robert Morris University men's outdoor track & field team continued its 2011 season this past weekend by finishing fifth out of 14 teams at the Oliver Nikoloff Invitational, hosted by the University of Cincinnati.
The Colonials finished with 70 points to take home fifth as the host Bearcats won the team title with 172 points. Cincinnati was followed by Miami (Ohio) (157), Marquette (123), Findlay (91) and Robert Morris.
Highlighting the meet for the Colonials was freshman Jackson Corcoran (Ligonier, Pa. / Ligonier Valley), who claimed gold in the javelin while establishing a new RMU outdoor school record in the event.
Corcoran finished with a toss of 66.23 meters (217'03") to outlast his fellow freshman teammate, Chris Carper (Altoona, Pa. / Altoona). Carper finished with a toss of 65.67 meters (215'05"), which also would've established a new school mark. Corcoran also qualified for the IC4A/ECAC Championships in the event thanks to his tally.
Carper also claimed bronze in the 400-intermediate hurdles thanks to a time of 54.73 seconds, trailing only Justin Hoffman of Cedarville and Terence Somerville of Cincinnati.
In other track events, senior T.J. Green (Stamford, Conn. / Milford Academy) finished third in the 100-meter dash with a time of 10.89 seconds, while senior Charles Gladman (Philadelphia, Pa. / Cardinal Dougherty) crossed the finish line in 22.12 seconds to garner fourth place in the 200-meter dash. Gladman also finished fifth in the 400-meter dash with a time of 50.07 seconds.
Joining Corcoran and Carper with solid showings in the field events was sophomore Brendan Morales (Westminster, Md. / Westminster). Thanks to a toss of 51.16 meters (167'10") in the hammer throw he earned fourth place while posting RMU's top throw of 43.99 meters (144'4") in the discus. Both established personal records.
Senior Chris Spataro (Gibsonia, Pa. / Pine-Richland) added to RMU's solid showing the field events by tying for second in the pole vault thanks to a lead of 4.70 meters (15'5"). Spataro tied Josh Dangel of Cincinnati, while Shane Sockey of Findlay took the individual title with a leap of 5.15 meters (16'10.75").
Robert Morris now gears up for its lone home meet of the 2011 campaign by hosting Bennie Benson Memorial Invitational Saturday, April 9, at the RMU Island Sports Center on Neville Island.
