Leach breaks Marietta's 100m Dash record at Wake Forest Open
Pioneers will host OAC Gold Meet Saturday at 1 p.m.

March 22, 2008
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Freshman Tara Leach (West Lafayette) broke the school record in the 100m Dash to highlight the Marietta College track & field team’s performance at the non scoring Wake Forest Open Friday (March 21) and Saturday (March 22). Leach, who finished 43rd at the predominately Division I meet, crossed the line in 13.17 seconds, which broke teammate Joanna Ferrell’s (Mineral Wells, W.Va./Parkersburg South) 2006 record of 13.25 seconds.

Another noteworthy performances on the women’s side came from sophomore Shannon McDonald (Lorain/Amherst Steele). McDonald ran a personal best in the 5,000m Run, finishing in 19:21.08, which placed her 28th.

Sophomore Randi Robertson (Avon Lake) also had two solid races this weekend. She ran a season’s best in the 800m Run (2:21.31) to finish 44th and ran a personal best in the 1,500m Run (4:55.13) and took 34th. Junior Jessi Larrison (Batavia) also ran well in the 800m Run, finishing 52nd with a season’s best time of 2:23.61.

Junior Tiffany Kovacevich (Strongsville) had a good weekend She took 18th in the Hammer Throw with a mark of 41.20m (135-02) and then placed 30th in the Shot Put with a mark of 11.11m (36-05.50).

In addition, sophomore Sarita Dhiraprasiddhi (Hilliard/Darby) placed 21st in the Triple Jump, clearing 10.51m (34-05.75), and the women’s 4x400 Relay, which included senior Sheena Spencer (Marietta), sophomore Brenda Puckett (Eaton/Preble Shawnee), Robertson and Larrison, ran its season’s best time of 4:13.81 and placed 20th.

On the men’s side, junior Brian Pallini (Medina) continued his remarkable year with three solid performances in the field events. Pallini set a personal record in the Hammer Throw (46.15m/151-05) and placed 16th. He also took 18th in the Shot Put with a season’s best mark of 14.07m (46-02) and 26th in the Javelin with a season’s best mark of 48.20m (158-02). Senior Dan DeZordo (Louisville/Marlington also had a season’s best mark in the Hammer Throw. He took 28th with a throw of 39.26m (128-10). In addition, senior Jayson Roth (Tuscarawas/Indian Valley) made his debut in the Javelin and finished 31st with a mark of 42.48m (139-04).

Other noteworthy performances included sophomore Louie D’Amico (Shadyside), who ran a personal record in the 5,000m Run after finishing in 17:17.29, as well as junior Jered Mitchem (Marietta/Warren Local) and sophomore Kent Reiber (Avon Lake), who ran the 800m Run in a season’s best time of 1:58.32 and 2:07.15, respectively. Freshman Justin Floyd (Redford, Mich./Redford Union) also set a personal record in the High Jump, clearing 1.92m (6-03.50). In addition, senior Harrison Potter (Rochester, N.Y./Gates Chili) ran the second best time of his career in the 3,000m Steeplechase, finishing 12th with a time of 9:56.81. Sophomore Kevin Hazlett (Akron/St. Vincent-St. Marys) also ran well in the 3,000m Steeplechase, his first time running the event. Hazlett took 24th with a time of 10:40.25.

Marietta is back in action on Saturday (March 29) when it hosts half of the Ohio Athletic Conference schools for the OAC Gold Meet at Don Drumm Stadium. Activity begins at 1 p.m. and will conclude about 6 p.m.

Freshman Tara Leach set a school record in the 100m Dash on Saturday

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