KUTZTOWN, PA (May 12, 2010) -- The Kutztown University women's outdoor track and field teams will be well-represented at the 2010 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Championships at West Chester University's Farrell Stadium in the three-day meet that begins Thursday May 13 and concludes Saturday May 15. (CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE SCHEDULE OF EVENTS) / (CLICK HERE FOR SEED LIST)

General admission tickets are $7 and student tickets are $2. Students with IDs from PSAC schools will be admitted free.

 
Kutztown track and field coach Ray Hoffman will have 22 student-athletes competing. The Golden Bears, who won three PSAC outdoor titles in 1997, 2000 and 2005, finished seventh at the 2009 championships with 60.5 points. They are looking to better that effort. Slippery Rock is the reigning women's champion. Kutztown enters the meet ranked sixth in the Atlantic Region in the United States Track and Field Cross-Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) regional poll.

The participating female athletes are Becca Brandt, Keri Brown, Katie Colburn, Christina Costanzo, Kristin Cupido, April Doyle, Shante Grayer, Steph Grimm, Brittany Harman, Maria Hoover, Rachel Hunte, Lynn Lisofsky, Brooke Mathews, Sarah Messner, Maggie O'Neil, Ashley Pinter, Cristina Reimer, Alex Sable, Kristen Slack, Rachel Weigle, Alison Wise, and Jenn Zook.

“We are looking for a top five finish on the women's side,” Kutztown track and field coach Ray Hoffman said. “We are a very young women's team.  The ladies have done an outstanding job from week to week through the season and I feel that the last three weeks have been our best.  We are counting on a lot of younger ladies to step up and compete like veterans.  I know the ability is there, it's going to be interesting.”

Entering the meet, the Golden Bears currently have six student-athletes that have earned NCAA Division II championship provisional qualifying performances. Pinter (hammer), Doyle (shot put), Brandt (10,000), Cupido (10,000), Reimer (steeplechase) and Slack (triple jump).

Many of the Golden Bears are seeded in the top 10 of their respective events. Doyle and Pinter have the top two throws, respectively in the shot put. Pinter is first in the discus second in the hammer throw. Brandt and Cupido are sixth and seventh, respectively in the 10,000-meter run. Hunte's fastest time earns her the sixth seed in the 400-meter dash. Lisofsky is third in the 400-meter hurdles and Reimer is third in the steeplechase

In the distance races, Brown is fourth in the 1,500 and eighth in the 800. Brandt is sixth in the 3,000 and 10,000 and seventh in the 5,000. Cupido is fifth in the 3,000, sixth in the 5,000 and seventh in the 10,000. Grimm is sixth in the 1,500. In other events, Slack is fifth in the triple jump. Hoover is seventh in the discus and hammer throw. Colburn is sixth in the 400-meter hurdles.

Kutztown's 4 x 100-meter relay quartet of Mathews, Grayer, Slack and Messner has the second fastest time in the event (48.54) behind Slippery Rock (47.70). Kutztown's mark is the school record time.

Pinter finished third at last year's PSAC outdoor championship meet in the discus. Reimer placed fifth in the steeplechase. Messner and Mathews were members of the 4 x 100-meter relay team that placed fifth in that event. Hunte and Colburn helped the 4 x 400-meter relay team to a seventh place performance.

“The throws, short sprints, and distance events should be big for us,” Hoffman said. “Even though we have a very strong distance program we are matched really well by a few other teams. Our distance runners have to take a big step up for us.”

CLICK HERE FOR FULL COVERAGE OF THE 2010 PSAC TRACK AND FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS

--KU--