12 W&J Athletes Set To Compete At ECAC Championships
WASHINGTON, Pa. -- Twelve Washington & Jefferson College track & field athletes have qualified to compete at the Division III ECAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Troy, N.Y. (May 17-18).
Senior Taylor Hockman (Martinsville, W. Va./Hedgesville) leads all W&J athletes having qualified for three events. Hockman will compete in the long jump and triple jump for the second consecutive year and will also race as a member of the 4x100m relay squad. He took fifth in the long jump at last year’s ECAC meet and was recently named Presidents’ Athletic Conference Field MVP, after claiming his second-straight long jump and triple jump titles at the PAC Championships.
Junior Scott Ryan (Williamsville, N.Y./Williamsville East) will look to defend last year’s 10,000m crown while also racing in the 5,000m run. Ryan broke school records at last spring’s ECAC meet with a time of 31:12.41 in the 10,000m, while eclipsing his own record in the 5,000m by 23 seconds (14:49.76). Ryan was named the PAC Overall Track & Field MVP at last weekend’s PAC Championships after running to first in a pair of distance events (10,000m & 5,000m) and taking second in the 1,500m.
Senior Greg French (Buffalo, N.Y./Williamsville East) will race in the 400-meter hurdles as well as the 4x100m relay. Joining French and Hockman on the relay squad are senior Bryant Wang (Sudbury, Mass./Lincoln-Sudbury) and junior Jared Jones (Glenshaw, Pa./Shaler). Junior Gavin Donathan (Hurricane, W. Va./Hurricane) will be competing for the first time in the shot put.
On the women’s side, senior C.J. Corcoran (Harleysville, Pa./Souderton) looks to improve on her third-place showing in last year’s javelin event, while also running in the 4x100m relay team. Joining Corcoran on the relay squad are sophomores Laura Lee (Spartansburg, Pa./Titusville), Cheyenne Mangold (Boerne, Texas/Texas Military Institute) and Meghan Poinsett (Salem, N.J./Salem). Mangold will also take part in the 400 meters, while Poinsett will race in the 400m hurdles.
Fresh off her Track MVP performance at the PAC Championships, freshman Kristen Galligan (Frederick, Md./Governor Thomas Johnson) will run a pair of long distance races. Galligan sped to titles in the 5,000m and 10,000m races at the PAC Championships and will compete in the same events at the ECAC meet.
Additional members of the W&J track & field teams can still qualify to take part in the ECAC Championships. The first chance will come on May 11 when the teams compete at the Allegheny College Gator Invitational.
