Goucher Takes First Place in DMR by 1.2 Seconds

Falk Shares Top Rookie Honors with Two Other Freshmen

SELINSGROVE, Pa. — Goucher's Doug Falk (Barnegat, N.J./Barnegat Twp.) shared first place in the distance medley relay with three of his teammates today at the 2011 Landmark Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships. He also shared the conference's Rookie of the Year award with a pair of freshmen from other institutions.

Falk, who ran the 400-meter leg on Goucher's victorious entry in the distance medley relay, placed fifth in the high jump and also competed in two other relay events in which the Gophers scored points, finished in a three-way tie for Rookie of the Year in balloting by the conference's head coaches and will share the honor with Kristopher Joint from Moravian and Brendon Albaugh from Susquehanna.

In the distance medley relay, Adam Scipione (Walpole, Mass./Walpole) ran the opening 1,200-meter leg and Brian Gautier (Barnegat, N.J./Barnegat Twp.) and Joey Negreann (Denver, Colo./Cherry Creek) followed Falk, handling the 800- and 1,600-meter legs, respectively. The foursome turned in a time of 10:53.24 to finish 1.2 seconds ahead of the runner-up entry from the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, set a new indoor school record and ended Juniata's three-year stranglehold on the DMR title at the conference meet.

This is also Goucher's initial first-place performance in either an individual or relay event at the Landmark meet in the conference's four-year history.

Falk, who cleared 6-feet to place fifth overall in the high jump competition, ran the second legs on Goucher's entries in both the 4 x 200-meter and 4 x 400-meter relays, both of which placed fourth and picked up four points for the Gophers. In the 4 x 200, the foursome of Gautier, Falk, Lovell Kosh (Chester, Pa./Christiana) and Chris Litz (Bel Air, Md./John Carroll) was clocked at 1:38.91; in the 4 x 400, the same four runners who represented Goucher in the distance medley relay posted a combined time of 3:43.66.

Goucher also took sixth place in the 4 x 800-meter relay with Nick Manta (North Wales, Pa./Abington Friends School), Georgi Shalamanov (Velingrad, Bulgaria/St. St. Kiril & Metodi), Hugh Geller (Devens, Mass./Francis W. Parker Charter Essential School) and Andrew Gethins (Yorktown, N.Y./Lakeland) turning in a time of 9:24.82.

Litz placed third overall in the pole vault, clearing 14-feet, 11-inches. Will Evans III (Baltimore, Md./Overlea) finished fifth to earn two points in the 55-meter dash (:06.72), as did Negreann in the 5,000 meters (15:37.51).

Mark Renehan (Finksburg, Md./Westminster) broke the indoor school record in the weight throw with an effort of 42-feet, 0.5-inches, which landed him in seventh place.

By scoring points in eight of the meet's 17 events, the Gophers finished in fifth place with a team score of 31 points.