(Posted May 5, 2007)

ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. - The Juniata College track and field teams both capped three strong days of competition at the MAC Championships with strong showings on the final day which helped each team place in the top six at the meet. The Juniata women claimed a fifth-place with good efforts near the conclusion of the day to earn 81 points, matching its fifth-place effort of a year ago. Despite missing some key point producers because of injuries the Juniata men got the team\'s only individual gold medal on the day and piled up 67 points just half a point better than DeSales University to place sixth. The men\'s team had just eight point-scoring performances on the day but they included the team\'s only gold medal performance of the day as Kyle Mazur (Morris Catholic/Ogdensburg, N.J.) placed first in the javelin. His best throw of 59.84 meters was good for the first-place finish and improved on his NCAA Division III qualifying provisional mark by more than two meters. On the women\'s side the Eagles found points in nearly every event en route to its xx team finish. Highlighting the day was a pair of silver medal finishes from freshman Laura Rupprecht (Brunswick/Jefferson, Md.). She placed second in the 1,500 with a personal-best time of 4:48.89 that was just .89 seconds off the Juniata record. She then was also second in the 800 by running a time of 2:22.47. The women also had a pair of third-place finishes on the track. Melissa Johnson (John F. Kennedy/Colonia, N.J.) ran a time of 1:07.31 to place third in the 400 hurdles. Cassie Majocha (Burrell/Upper Burrell) was also seventh in that event. Johnson and Majocha were then joined by Rupprecht and Caitlin Hinson (Danville/Danville) to place third in the 4x400 with a time of 4:11.17. Lia Bella (Morris Catholic/Rockaway, N.J.) was fifth for Juniata in the 5,000 and posted a time of 19:14.82. Hinson had two point-scoring efforts by placing sixth in the 100 in a time of 13.03 and an eighth-place effort in the 200. Kelsey Buffenmyer (Donegal/Mount Joy) added a sixth-place effort in the 100 hurdles by crossing the line in a time of 16.43. The women also got a third-place performance in the field events as Regina Diehl (Camp Hill/Camp Hill) was one of two Eagles to earn points in the javelin. Diehl placed third with a throw of 35.60 meters while Maggie Wolenter (Audubon/Audubon, N.J.) was fifth in the event. Buffenmyer also contributed in the field events as she placed sixth in the long jump with a leap of 5.12 meters. On the men\'s side the Eagles then had three third-place finishes to go along with Mazur\'s first-place effort to help the team to its sixth-place finish. Matthew Booth (Allentown Central Catholic/Allentown placed third in the long jump with a best leap of 6.73 meters. TJ Breya (East Juniata/McClure) continued the personal bests as he crossed the line third in the 400-meter hurdles with a personal best time of 54.95. The Eagles also placed third in the 4x100 relay with Dusty Sier (/), Booth, Breya and Randy Anderson (DuBois/DuBois) posting a time of 43.80. The men\'s other finishes were fifth-place efforts as Tripp Rudolph\'s (Central Catholic/Pittsburg) time of 1:56.61 earned him a fifth place finish in the 800. Shawn Rumery (Thornton Academy/Dayton, Maine) was also fifth in the 1,500 with a time of 4:05.93. The Eagles capped the day with a sixth-place finish in the 4x400 relay. Breya, Rudolph, Eric Hoover (Brandywine/Wilmington, Del.) and Rumery covered the distance in a time of 3:29.46 that earned the Eagles three points to secure their sixth-place finish. The meet marked Juniata\'s last competition as a member of the MAC. The Eagles will begin competing in the Landmark Conference in the Fall of 2007. Mazur and Buffenmyer have both provisionally qualified for the NCAA Division III Track and Field Championships, which will begin May 24 at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh. ###

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