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                         May 10, 2002

Men's track and field wins PL championship

By James Kramer
Athletic Media Relations Assistant

The Army men’s track and field team put the finishing touches on another conference championship Saturday in Bethlehem, Pa., using four event victories and a dominating array of top-five finishes to stun the overmatched field. Head Coach Jerry Quiller was named Coach of the Year after Army defeated its closest competitor by nearly 100 points.

Sophomores Travis Pendleton, Jeff Weaver and Rod Manzo took top honors in the field. Pendleton introduced himself to the league competition and promptly solidified his spot as the top discus performer in the conference. Pendleton stayed true to his top-seed billing by throwing 177’11" en route to the win. Classmate Manny Eleyae (170’2") and junior Jake Ring (158’9") padded Army’s point total in the discus with third and fourth-place finishes.

Manzo led an interesting sweep in the high jump. While the Black Knights took first, third and fourth in the event, the same height divided the top four finishers. Manzo took the victory after being the first to clear 6’7". Weaver and sophomore Adam Burke would also eventually clear the mark, resulting in their respective positions in the standings.

Though Weaver missed out on gold in the high jump, he redeemed himself by securing the winning leap in the triple jump. Weaver flew across the pit 47’10.75" to collect the easy victory. Sophomore Jevan Willis provided the exclamation point with a third-place finish (44’11.5").

Sophomore Trevor Hopper was the lone Army winner on the track, gliding to a season-best 52.47 in the 400-meter hurdles. Willis had his second outstanding race of the day in the hurdles, picking up his first silver with a runner-up finish (53.70).

Army showcased its depth in every area, collecting top-three finishes in four other events. Senior Devon Capps continued his heroic comeback with a runner-up finish in the open quarter (48.45), while senior All-American Clay Schwabe finished third in the 800m after clocking 1:52.97. Army shined in the 1500m as well with junior Eric Motzenbecker enjoying the best race of his career en route to a second-place finish (3:51.88). Senior Will Wyche completed Saturday’s headliners for Army, crossing the finish line in third in the 5,000m (14:55.87).