Jan. 30, 2012

CENTER VALLEY, Pa. -- The Patriot League announced its weekly awards for Jan. 23-29 in indoor track & field and swimming & diving Monday.

It was a big weekend for Navy runners and there was another pair of qualifying marks in the field for Bucknell's Tom Barr as the Patriot League Indoor Track and Field Championships quickly approach. All eight schools were in action this past weekend as there are just two more weekends of competitions left before the championships. Navy won three weekly awards, while Army, Bucknell and Lehigh each won one. Navy's Jess Palacio was less than two seconds away from becoming just the fifth Patriot League female student-athlete to have qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championships.

The Patriot League Swimming and Diving Championships are less than three weeks away, and several teams wrapped up their regular season competition this weekend. The Army men captured a pair of victories over League rivals Colgate and Lafayette in a tri-meet hosted by the Raiders Saturday, while the Colgate women swept the Black Knights and Leopards. Navy hosted competitors from several League schools Saturday at the Navy Invitational in Annapolis, Md., giving some another chance to get familiar with Lejeune Hall before it hosts the League Championships beginning Feb. 16.


Patriot League Indoor Track and Field Weekly Awards

MALE TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
CODY ROME, NAVY Sr., Eagle, Idaho
Rome finished second in the 5,000 at the Wesley A. Brown Invitational Saturday, posting an IC4A time of 14:25.94, a personal best. He now ranks No. 1 in the Patriot League this season in the 3,000 and the 5,000. Rome wins the weekly award for the second time this season and fourth time in his career.

FEMALE TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
JESS PALACIO, NAVY Sr., Sun Valley, Nev.
Palacio set a school record in the mile at the Navy Women's Classic with an ECAC-qualifying time of 4:38.43, narrowly missing the NCAA standard of 4:37. She wins the award for the third time this season and seventh in her career, which adds to the Patriot League record she set two weeks ago.

MALE FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
TOM BARR, BUCKNELL Sr., Ambler, Pa.
Barr finished first in the shot put (53-10.25) at the Bison Open & Multi and third in the weight throw (63-9.5) at the Penn State Invite on Saturday. Both were career-bests and IC4A marks. He wins his fourth Field Athlete of the Week this season, tying a League single-season record set by Bucknell's Tyler Hoffman (2006-07) and Leonard Joseph (2010-11).

FEMALE FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
ALEXANDRA DOERSAM, LEHIGH Sr., Islip, N.Y.
Doersam finished first in three events and second in another, helping Lehigh to a win over Lafayette. She was first in the long jump with an ECAC distance of 18-10. She also was first in the 60 dash (7.84) and the 1,600 relay (4:00.02). She placed second in the 200 dash (25.96).

MALE ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
DANIEL GALLIEN, NAVY Fr., Natchitoches, La.
Gallien finished ninth in the 400 (49.66) and second in the 1,600 relay (3:17.68) at the Wesley A. Brown Invitational. His time in the 1,600 relay qualified he and his running mates for the IC4A Championships, and his 400 time was just 0.46 seconds off of an IC4A-qualifying time.

FEMALE ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
KATRINA DONARSKI, ARMY Fr., Yorkville, Ill.
Donarski finished 13th in the 400 at the Saturday Night at the Armory II with a time of 58.0 seconds. It was the third best 400 time in the Patriot League this season and best by a freshman.

HONORABLE MENTIONS
JOSH OLSEN, AMERICAN Sr., Thomaston, Conn.
Olsen finished first in the mile (4:14.76) at the George Mason Patriot Games, qualifying for the IC4A Championships.

CHRIS JONES, ARMY Sr., Blairsville, Ga.
Jones finished third in the 800 with an IC4A time of 1:54.16 at the Saturday Night at The Armory II.

BETH BRAUNEGG, BUCKNELL So., Williamsport, Pa.
Braunegg placed fourth in the 1,000 with an ECAC time of 2:53.73 at the Penn State Invitational.

ANDREW POWELL, BUCKNELL Sr., Charleton, Mass.
Powell finished first in the heptathlon with a school record 5,049 points, an IC4A-qualifying point total. He was the top finisher in the 60 hurdles, pole vault, long jump and high jump.

CHRIS JOHNSON, COLGATE Jr., Murray Hill, N.J.
Johnson placed first in the 1,000 (2:27.74) at the Class of '32 Invitational, qualifying for the IC4A Championships.

JEROME RUDOLPH, LAFAYETTE Sr., Lithonia, Ga.
Rudolph finished first in the 60 dash (6.89), 200 dash (22.48) and long jump (24-0.25) at the Lafayette-Lehigh Dual. He met IC4A standards in both the 60 dash and long jump.

JESSICA KENDZOR, LEHIGH So., Somers, N.Y.
Kendzor finished first in the 800 at the Lehigh-Lafayette Dual with an ECAC time of 2:13.59.

KRISTIN SMITH, NAVY Jr., Harleysville, Pa.
Smith finished first at the Patriot Games in the high jump with a height of 5-7, qualifying for the ECAC Championships.


Patriot League Swimming and Diving Weekly Awards

MALE SWIMMER OF THE WEEK
ZACH INGOLD, NAVY So., Hornell, N.Y.
Ingold posted a pair of first-place showings at the unscored Navy Invitational Saturday in Annapolis, Md. The sophomore from Hornell, N.Y., captures the second weekly award of his career after winning the 50-yard free in 21.30 and touching the wall first in the 100 free in 45.79. The only Navy swimmer to capture two events Saturday, he also finished runner-up in the 100 back with a time of 51.20, just 0.10 seconds out of first. In all, Navy won 12 of the 17 events contested on the day.

FEMALE SWIMMER OF THE WEEK
LIA KUNNAPAS, COLGATE Jr., Hasbrouck Heights, N.J.
Kunnapas recorded two individual victories to pace the Raiders to a pair of victories over League foes in a tri-meet Saturday at the Lineberry Natatorium in Hamilton, N.Y. The junior swept the 100- and 200-yard backstrokes with times of 56.74 and 2:04.61, respectively, helping guide Colgate to a 178-115 win over Army and a 180-102 victory against Lafayette. She was also part of a pair of winning relay teams for the Raiders against the toe League rivals. Kunnapas returned to the pool Sunday in the Raiders' 152-83 loss at Connecticut, where she picked up first-place points for Colgate after winning the 200 free in 1:54.91.

MALE DIVER OF THE WEEK
BEN FREEDMAN, NAVY So., Kennewick, Wash.
Freedman captures his fifth Male Diver of the Week nod after sweeping the one- and three-meter diving events at the Navy Invitational at Lejeune Hall. Freedman won the one-meter competition with a score of 314.95, 13.55 points ahead of second place. He went higher from the three-meter board, tallying 328.25 points to clear the field by 33.40. Freedman and Army's Chris Nguyen have combined for 11 of this season's 13 weekly awards to this point.

FEMALE DIVER OF THE WEEK
KATIE HETHERINGTON, BUCKNELL Fr., Houston, Texas
Hetherington swept both diving events during a meet for the fifth time this year en route to nabbing her fourth weekly nod of the 2011-12 season. She scored 276.85 points off the three-meter board for her second-best score of the season in that competition. Overall Hetherington has 13 wins on the season entering the Patriot League Championships beginning Feb. 16 at Navy.

HONORABLE MENTIONS
LEAH BREEN, AMERICAN Sr., Irvine, Calif.
Breen swept the 50- and 100-yard freestyles at the Navy Invite, capturing the 50 in 24.28 and edging Navy's Laura Gorinski in the 100 free by 0.03 seconds (53.16).

WILL VIANA, ARMY Fr., Stuttgart, Germany
Viana won three events (200 fly, 500 free, 200 IM) to guide Army to a pair of victories at Colgate over the host Raiders and Lafayette in Saturday's tri-meet. His 1:52.68 in the 200 fly was just over four seconds off the NCAA B-cut pace.

LAURA GORINSKI, NAVY Jr., Greensburg, Pa.
Gorinski won two events and was part of a victorious 400-meter medley relay as Navy defeated Johns Hopkins 137-76 in Annapolis last week. She set the Navy record in the 400-meter IM with a time of 4:56.58, bettering the previous mark of 4:57.00 held by Kelly Zahalka. Gorinski went outside her comfort zone at the Navy Invitational, swimming in the 100- and 200-yard freestyles for the first time in two years, while competing in the 100 back for the first time ever. She took second, first and sixth in those events, respectively.

CHRIS NGUYEN, ARMY Jr., Cheshire, Conn.
Nguyen won the three-meter diving with 349.95 points and took fourth from the one-meter board with 287.02 points during Army's two victories at Colgate Saturday.