Jan. 9, 2012

CENTER VALLEY, Pa. -- The Patriot League announced its weekly awards for Jan. 1-8 in indoor track & field and swimming & diving Monday.

Four Patriot League teams were in action over the weekend in indoor track and field and Bucknell, Army and Navy each had two weekly award winners. .

In swimming and diving, there were just two meets contested last week, with the Lehigh men picking up a convincing 202-98 victory over Marist, while the Lehigh women fell 171-129. The Navy men also returned to the pool for the first time in about a month went toe-to-toe with No. 22 Princeton before falling 152.5-147.5 in Annapolis, Md.


Patriot League Indoor Track and Field Weekly Awards

Male Track Athlete of the Week
CHRISTOPHER JONES, ARMY Sr., Blairsville, Ga.
Jones finished first in the 500 (1:04.62) and first in the 1,000 (2:32.41) at the Crowell Open in West Point, N.Y. His first-place finish in the 500 met an IC4A-qualifying standard. This is his first indoor weekly award.

FEMALE TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
JESS PALACIO, NAVY Sr., Sun Valley, Nev.
Palacio finished first in the mile with an ECAC-qualifying time of 4:57.12 at the Delaware Invitational. She also placed first in the 3,000 (10:05.67). This is her first indoor weekly award of the season and fifth of her career. She won four times last season.

MALE FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
TOM BARR, BUCKNELL Sr., Ambler, Pa.
Barr posted two IC4A-qualifying marks at the Bucknell Mini-Meet, placing first in the shot put (53-9) and first in the weight throw (56-6.75). Barr's shot put distance was a career best and it was four inches off of the school record. This is Barr's second career indoor weekly award.

FEMALE FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
AMANDA PHELPS, NAVY Sr., Oceanside, Calif.
Phelps finished first in the weight throw at the Delaware Invitational, besting an ECAC mark with a distance of 53-7. She also had a fourth-place finish in the shot put (40-0). Phelps wins her third indoor weekly award and first of this season.

MALE ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
CHRISTIAN LUPICA, BUCKNELL Fr., Newtown, Pa.
Lupica tied for first in the 60 hurdles (8.31) and placed second in the 200 (22.47) at the Bucknell Mini-Meet. This is his first indoor weekly award.


FEMALE ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
LISA JUNTA, ARMY Fr., Springfield, Va.
Junta placed first in the 3,000 at the Crowell Open with a time of 10:13.32. She won the race by nearly nine seconds.

HONORABLE MENTIONS
ALEX JACKSON, NAVY Sr., Elmhurst, Ill.
Jackson finished second in the 400 at the Navy-Princeton dual meet, surpassing an IC4A standard with a time of 49.08 seconds. He also placed first in the 1,600 relay (3:22.34).

CHRIS RICKS, NAVY Sr., Reynoldsburg, Ohio
Ricks placed first in the weight throw with an IC4A distance of 57-7 at the Navy-Princeton dual meet. It was the third time this season that Ricks has won the weight throw.

SARAH BELLA, BUCKNELL Sr., Mendham, N.J.
Bella won the shot put at the Bucknell Mini-Meet, posting an ECAC-qualifying distance of 44-4. She also finished third in the weight throw with a distance of 46-5.25.

TOM WAGNER, ARMY Sr., Clinton, N.Y.
Wagner placed first in two events at the Crowell Open, including the high jump where he posted an IC4A height of 6-8.25. He was first in the triple jump (46-7.25) and fourth in the 60 hurdles (8.38).


Patriot League Swimming and Diving Weekly Awards

MALE SWIMMER OF THE WEEK
MAC ANTHONY, NAVY Sr., Allentown, Pa.
Anthony alone accounted for two of the Mids' eight event victories in Saturday's narrow 152.5-147.5 loss to No. 22 Princeton at Lejeune Hall in Annapolis, Md. The senior took down first place in the 100-meter freestyle with a time of 50.49, and added another win in the 200-meter free with a clocking of 1:49.61. His time in the latter is the second-fastest in the event in Navy history, behind his own school record. Anthony also took sixth in the 400-meter free with a time of 4:06.38, and was instrumental in the Mids' victory in the 400-meter free relay. The Navy foursome posted a time of 3:23.05. Anthony now has 16 individual event wins on the season.

FEMALE SWIMMER OF THE WEEK
ALISSA LEUNG, LEHIGH Fr., Garden City, N.Y.
Leung swept the 100- and 200-yard backstrokes for Lehigh in its 171-129 loss to Marist Saturday, continuing her strong showings in those two events during her first collegiate season. She touched the wall in 1:00.43 to win the 100 back and clocked a 2:08.59 to take first in the 200 back. Leung added a third-place showing in the 200 IM with a 2:16.23. Leung capped off her competition by helping the Mountain Hawks take second in the 200 medley relay with a time of 1:50.93.

MALE DIVER OF THE WEEK
BEN FREEDMAN, NAVY So., Kennewick, Wash.
Freedman was victorious in the one-meter dive against Princeton, scoring 325.20 to win by 23 points. That point total is also high enough to qualify for the NCAA Zone Diving meet later in the spring. Freedman added a second-place showing from the three-meter board with 292.25 points, finishing just .25 points shy of first. Freedman now has two victories in the one-meter event and has five top-two finishes in six outings from the three-meter board.

FEMALE DIVER OF THE WEEK
No nominations

HONORABLE MENTION
KEVIN SHOEMAKER, LEHIGH Sr., Hellertown, Pa.
Shoemaker contributed three first-place finishes and was part of a winning relay in Lehigh's 202-98 win over visiting Marist Saturday. He captured wins in the 100- and 200-yard flys and the 200 IM, and was part of Lehigh's victorious 200 medley relay.