Chris Gardner Named Co-Field Athlete of the Meet; Sean Strauman Sets Meet Record in 800 at PSAC Championships



Chris Gardner was named the co-recipient of the PSAC field athlete of the meet award

May 3, 2008

Complete PSAC Meet Results

Chris Gardner was named the men's co-field athlete of the meet, Sean Strauman broke the conference record in the 800 and Gretchen Colwell took first in the hammer to highlight the IUP performance at the PSAC outdoor track and field meet which wrapped up Saturday at Miller Stadium.

Gardner won the long jump Friday and added a second place finish in the high jump Saturday, clearing the bar at 6 feet, 9 3/4 inches. He shared the field athlete of the meet award with East Stroudsburg's Paul Wagner.

Gardner's marks will likely earn him a trip to the NCAA Division II national meet in both events.

Strauman eclipsed the 27-year-old PSAC record in the 800 with a time of 1:48.57, taking first place by almost six seconds over runner-up Phil Rector of Slippery Rock. Strauman's time was more than one second better than the previous conference mark of 1:49.23 set by Rick Killian of Edinboro in 1981.

Strauman won his seventh PSAC title in the 800 and the only time he failed to take first in the event came in the indoor meet in March when he went down with an injury at the beginning of the race. He currently holds the top time in the nation in the Division II ranks.

IUP also had two men take third place finishes to earn spots on the all-conference team. Troy Litten, who won the decathlon Friday, was third in the pole vault at 15-9 while Rob Conrad was third in the javelin with a top throw of 199-3.

Rounding out the IUP scorers Saturday were Matt Celestin, who was fourth in the triple jump (46-6) and Matt Gaudet, who was fifth in the 3000 meter steeplechase (9:44.8).

Colwell finished in the top four in three events to lead the IUP women. She added to her fourth place finish in the shot put Friday by winning the hammer throw (167-10) and taking third in the discus (127-9) on the final day of the meet.

Stacie Stockard also earned all-conference accolades by finishing second in the 3000 meter steeplecase with a time of 11:32.2. Maureen Newell placed in two events, taking fourth in the 1500 meters (4:45.58) and eighth in the 800 meters (2:17.54).

IUP finished seventh in both the men's and women's team standings. The men scored 61 points while the women had 40. Slippery Rock and Lock Haven were 1-2 in both competitions.