Galligan And Ryan Continue Record-Setting Years With ECAC Titles
NEW YORK, N.Y. -- Washington & Jefferson College swept the ECAC Division III Indoor 5,000-meter championships Friday night at The Armory in New York City when senior Scott Ryan (Williamsville, N.Y./Williamsville East) and sophomore Kristen Galligan (Frederick, Md./Governor Thomas Johnson) claimed titles in record-setting fashion.
Galligan nearly broke a 22-year-old ECAC record when posting a time of 17:04.75 to breeze past the field of 19 runners. Her time eclipsed her own school indoor record and was 2.13 seconds shy of Michelle LeFleur's (Cortland State) record time of 17:02.62 established in 1991. During the fall season, Galligan became the first NCAA cross country All-American in school history.
Heading into this weekend, Galligan owned the 14th-best time in the 5,000 meters nationally and the top 15 times will earn spots in the NCAA Division III Championship field (Mar. 8-9 - Naperville, Ill.). The invitations are expected to be released Sunday or Monday.
Ryan, a two-time, cross country national championship participant, clipped his own school indoor record with his time of 15:08.50. As a sophomore, Ryan earned the ECAC Division III Outdoor 10,000-meter championship.
In addition to W&J standout distance duo, senior Gavin Donathan (Hurricane, W.Va./Hurricane) and junior Harley Straub (Richfield, Pa./Juniata) both placed 10th in the shot put. Donathan recorded a top throw of 46'0 3/4", while Straub's best toss was 38'0".
On Saturday, junior Cheyenne Mangold (Boerne, Texas/Texas Military Institute) recorded the Presidents' top finish after claiming fourth in the 400 meters (57.66). That time bested her own school record set numerous times this winter by three-tenths of a second.
