Moon Township, Pa. - The Robert Morris University men's outdoor track & field team, bolstered by 10 student-athletes to earn All-Northeast Conference honors, finished second at the 2011 NEC Outdoor Track & Field Championships in West Long Branch, N.J., Sunday.

The Colonials finished with a team score of 133 points, their highest showing since winning the 2000 NEC outdoor track & field title with 146.5. Monmouth won its third straight title with 143.50 points.

Sophomore Steve Mitchell (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Pittsburgh Central Catholic) was named the meet's Most Outstanding Field Performer after claiming gold in the hammer throw and silver in the shot put.

"I'm not one for winning awards," Mitchell said. "As long as my team does good I'm usually happy. It's been a wild spring. I competed in the IC4A's in the weight throw, then went back to football for spring ball. I finished up football, so this meet is technically my second track meet of the year."

Mitchell won the hammer throw with a tally of 50.83 meters (166'09"), outdistancing Terry Bookhammer of Saint Francis (Pa.), who finished with a toss of 50.70 meters (166'4"). In the shot put, Mitchell finished with a throw of 16.29 meters (53'5.50") to finish second and also establish a new RMU outdoor school record.

Also earning a pair of All-NEC honors were seniors Charles Gladman (Philadelphia, Pa. / Cardinal Dougherty) and T.J. Green (Stamford, Conn. / Milford Academy) and freshman Jermaine Dwight (Wyncote, Pa. / Cheltenham Township). The trio were both part the 4x100-meter and 4x400-meter relay teams that finished second.

RMU's 4x100-meter relay squad that also included freshman Abraham Roy (Middletown, Pa. / Middletown Area) finished second with a time of 41.92 seconds, while the 4x400-meter team that also featured freshman Nicolas Gentile (Sarver, Pa. / Freeport) also earned second place thanks to a time of 3:15.38.

For Robert Morris, Mitchell highlighted a group of throwers that accumulated 69 points.

Joining Mitchell to score in the shot put were sophomores Brendan Morales (Westminster, Md. / Westminster) and Collin Ray (Middletown, Pa. / Middletown Area). Morales finished third with a throw of 16.11 meters (52'10.25"), while Ray took home sixth place at 15.69 meters (51'5.75"). Both marks were good enough to qualify for the IC4A/ECAC Championships.

Morales also finished fourth in the hammer throw with a toss of 49.68 meters (163'00").

Ray earned All-NEC honors by claiming the individual title in the discus thanks to a throw of 51.01 meters (167'04"). The mark helped him break his own school record that was established in RMU's season-opening meet at Wake Forest.

Sophomore Robert Saltsgiver (Hermitage, Pa. / Hickory) joined Ray in earning All-NEC honors by finishing second in the discus with a toss of 46.60 meters (152'11"). Also scoring in the event for Robert Morris were sophomore Charles Thurner-Diaz (Camp Hill, Pa. / Camp Hill), who finished sixth with a final tally of 43.61 meters (143'01"), and freshman Kelton Mehls (Dillsburg, Pa. / Northern), who claimed seventh place with a throw of 43.50 meters (142'08").

In the javelin, freshman Chris Carper (Altoona, Pa. / Altoona) posted a throw of 63.20 meters (207'4") to claim silver and earn All-NEC accolades. Carper was followed by freshman teammate Jackson Corcoran (Ligonier, Pa. / Ligonier Valley), who finished with a final tally of 60.43 meters (198'03") to claim third place.

Carper also scored for RMU in both the 110-meter and 400-meter hurdles. He finished eighth in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 15.96 seconds and added a fourth-place finish in the 400-meter hurdles by crossing the finish line in 54.21 seconds.

Senior Chris Spataro (Gibsonia, Pa. / Pine-Richland) also earned All-NEC accolades in the pole vault, finishing second and qualifying for the IC4A/ECAC Championships with a leap of 4.80 meters (15'9"). Also in the jumps, sophomore Lance Washington (East Stroudsburg, Pa. / Stroudsburg) earned fourth place in the triple jump with a leap of 13.91 meters (45'7.75").

In other track events, Gladman finished fourth in both the 100-meter (11.17 seconds) and the 200-meter (21.99 seconds), while Gentile finished third in the 800-meter with a time of 1:53.08 seconds.

2011 NEC Outdoor Track & Field Championships (Final)