Four Earn All-MAC Honors
RADNOR, Pa. - Shenandoah University continued its strong performance at the 2010 MAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships by having four student-athletes earn All-League honors Friday afternoon.
Junior Brandi Sobanko led this performance by becoming the Hornets first-ever individual MAC Champion with a victory in the heptathlon.
Sobanko, who entered day two of the two-day, seven-event competition in second place, found herself needing to defeat Elizabethtown's Allie Gold by approximately 14 seconds in 800 meters to win the title after finishing fifth and sixth in the javelin and long jump, respectively.
The junior went out and got the job done, running a 2:25.64 to win by 12 seconds over Messiah's Rachel Bjorkman and besting Gold by 13.31 seconds.
Sobanko had 749 points and Gold 585 in that final event to give Sobanko a 3754 total to Gold's 3742.
On Thursday, Sobanko won the 200 meters with a 26.82, was second in the 100 meters and shot put and fourth in the high jump.
Senior Kelley Mitchell added two more All-MAC accolades to the hammer throw honor she earned on Thursday by finishing third in the shot put and fourth in the discus. Mitchell threw the shot 11.02 meters and the discus 34.15; on Thursday, she had a school record hammer toss of 39.65 meters.
Sophomore Amy Smith rounded out the All-MAC honorees on the women's side with a 11:51.81, 3rd place showing in the steeplechase.
Jake Garcia was eighth in that event for the men with a 9.58.60. Both marks are new school records for the Hornets.
Smith's classmate, Justine Hastings, was the final scoring woman for SU on day two. She tied for eighth in the high jump with a leap of 1.38 meters.
Sophomore Philip Volz became the first man to earn All-MAC honors this meet by finishing sixth in the triple jump. Volz jumped 12.67 meters.
In preliminary events, sophomores Josiah Renton and Kevin Schaeffer qualified for the Saturday's finals in the 800 meters and the 400 meter hurdles, respectively.
The SU women are fourth of nine scoring teams with 38.5 points and the men are currently in 10th.
The meet concludes Saturday.
