March 9, 2009

JACKSONVILLE, FL – The York College men’s track & field squad completed their winter break trip to Florida on Saturday at the two-day University of North Florida Spring Break Open. A number of Division I schools were in attendance including Florida State, Mississippi State, and Winthrop. The Spartans, who competed outdoors for the first-time this year picked up six top-15 finishes and broke the school’s 4x100 relay record
    On Friday, The record-setting 4x100 crew of senior Gabe Henise (York, Pa./Dallastown), freshman Mark Ksiezopolski (Hillsborough, N.J./Hillsborough), junior Thomas Kentouris (Belle Harbor, N.Y./Saint Edmund's Prep), and freshman Darren McKoy (Baltimore, Md./Mount Saint Joseph) turned in a stellar mark of 43.75 seconds. York’s top 4x100 team finished sixth overall in the event.
    Ksiezopolski furthers his impressive rookie campaign as he came in tenth in the pole vault at the UNF meet. The freshman registered a height of 4.00 meters as he continues to make a mark on the collegiate scene.
    In the long jump, the Spartans notched 17th and 19th place finishes courtesy of McKoy and senior Jason Kane (Baltimore, Md./Archbishop Curley), respectively. McKoy’s leap of 5.63 meters allowed his 17th place finish while recorded a distance of 5.48 meters.
    The Green and White picked up two more top-20 finishes, this time in the 40-participant 800-meter event. Junior Kevin Love (Royersford, Pa./Spring-Ford) posted a solid 2:01.28 to come in 17th while sophomore Andrew Friesma (Adamstown, Pa./Cocalico) finished less than five-tenths of a second behind Love to take 19th with a 2:01.75.
    Henise gave the Spartans their best finish in the 100-meter dash, 23rd out of 47 runners, with a solid 11.35 time. McKoy completed the race just four spots behind Henise, crossing the line at 11.51 seconds.
    Day two proved another solid outing for the Green and White as they continue to work toward their scheduled outdoor season. Junior Ben Edwards (Howell, N.J./Howell) turned-in York’s top Saturday finish, as he posted a strong 57.20 time in the 400 hurdles to grab 11th. Junior Ryan Campbell (Stroudsburg, Pa./Stroudsburg) came in 21st in the 36-participant event, with a time of 1:00.75.
    In the triple jump, Kane posted a 12th-place finish with a trio of bounds equating to 12.10 meters. Edwards placed 13th with a distance of 11.24 meters.
    Senior Blair Walborn (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Mechanicsburg Area) launched the javelin 45.43 meters to take 13th out of 29 participants. Fellow senior thrower Ryan Diggelman (Salt Point, N.Y./Arlington) posted a 17th place finish in the shot put with a toss of 11.05 meters.
    As they did in the 800 meters, Love and Friesma finished two spots apart in the 1,500 meters. Love came in 23rd out of 46 runners with a time of 4:15.40 while Friesma registered a 4:17.02.
    York’s top sprinters, Henise and McKoy added two more quality marks for the Green and White in the 200-meter dash.  Henise’s 30th-place finish, out of 52 runners, came courtesy of a 23.11 time. McKoy notched 35th place, crossing the line at 23.45 seconds.
    The Spartans’ experience against top-notch competition will only bode well for the Green and White later in the season. York will now return to training for the two weeks leading up to their March 20th meet at Lebanon Valley.

COMPLETE MEET RESULTS

Photo of senior thrower Blair Walborn