NCAA Championships page / accepted lists - men / women

ESU track & field history - men / women

EAST STROUDSBURG – Junior high jumper Lynn Mayer, a three-time All-American, leads seven East Stroudsburg University athletes and the men's 4x100m relay who have been selected to compete in the 2010 NCAA Division II Outdoor Track and Field Championships, which will be held at the Irwin Belk Complex at UNC Charlotte on May 27-29.

Mayer, tied for third in the nation at 5-9 3/4 entering the championships, is one of four automatic qualifiers for the Warriors and will look to become the second four-time All-American in school history, joining her coach, Karen (Way) Gaita, who won ESU's most recent national championship in 1991.

Mayer tied for second at the 2010 indoor championships, clearing 5-8 1/2, and will be making her fifth appearance at the NCAA championships. Senior Janelle Smith will compete in the high jump at the national level for the fourth time and was 10th outdoors last year for her top finish. Mayer won the PSAC championship last weekend and Smith was the runner-up while improving her provisional mark to 5-7 3/4, tied for eighth.

The Warriors' men will be represented by three automatic qualifiers – Negus Graham (400m), Drew Miller (triple jump) and Paul Wagner (hammer throw) – along with senior Matthew Gallup in the pole vault and sophomore Josh Hontz in the javelin. Miller was also selected in the long jump.

The 4x100m relay team will compete at the NCAA championships for the second straight year, with three members of last year's team returning in seniors Andrew McCloskey and Chris Reddick and junior Asher Ashfield, along with sophomore Ian Melhorn. The quartet set the school record last week in 40.79 to win its second straight PSAC title and is seventh in the national list.

Graham was an All-American during the indoor season, finishing fourth in the 400m dash in a school record of 47.37, and ran an outdoor record of 46.64 in the prelims of the PSAC championships to automatically qualify (7th in DII) before winning the final on Saturday. Graham was the first non-hurdler, men's or women's, to earn All-America honors in a distance under 1500 meters in school history.

Wagner placed sixth in the hammer last year to earn All-America status and enters with the seventh-best mark in Division II at 203-2, a school and PSAC record. He was the Men's Athlete of the Meet at the PSAC championships after winning the hammer and shot put, giving him a school record eight PSAC crowns, and will be going to the NCAA championships for the fourth time.

Miller will also be making his fourth career appearance, competing in the triple jump three times before qualifying in both events this year. He is tied for fifth in the triple jump with an automatic mark of 50-8 3/4, the second-best in school history, and is tied for 15th in the long jump at 23-11 3/4. Miller won his fifth career PSAC title in the triple jump and was third in the long jump last week.

Gallup is in line for his third trip to the NCAA championships, all outdoors, and has a provisional qualifying mark of 16-2 3/4. He was third in the PSAC this spring and won four straight pole vault championships during his sophomore and junior years.

Hontz gives ESU a national competitor in the men's javelin for the ninth time in the last 10 years, including All-Americans Barry Krammes (2002-03) and Dan Gale (2004). He is the sixth Warrior to make the trip this decade and is 12th in Division II at 201-11.

Two ESU athletes were the final cut in their events, junior Bill Buis in the javelin and senior Trina Carito in the heptathlon. Carito (long jump), junior Jasmine Johnson (400m), freshman Corinne Fitzgerald (3000m steeplechase), Dan Johnson (decathlon) and Reddick (400m) were also provisional qualifiers this season, along with the men's 4x400m relay.

Below are this year's marks and previous NCAA finishes for ESU's athletes:

Negus Graham, Junior, one-time All-American (2nd appearance)
400m – 46.64, 7th in Division II, automatic qualifier, PSAC champion
2010 indoors – 4th, 47.37

Drew Miller, Senior (4th appearance)
Triple Jump – 50-8 3/4, tied for 5th in Division II, automatic qualifier, PSAC champion
Long Jump – 23-11 3/4, t-15th in Division II, provisional qualifier, 3rd in PSAC
2010 indoors (TJ) – 12th, 47-8; 2008 outdoors (TJ) – 14th, 47-3 1/2; 2008 indoors (TJ) – 10th, 46-9

Paul Wagner, Senior, one-time All-American (4th appearance)
Hammer Throw – 203-2, 7th in Division II, automatic qualifier, PSAC champion
2010 indoors (weight) – dnp, foul; 2009 outdoors (hammer) – 6th, 196-9; 2009 indoors (weight) – 9th, 61-4 3/4

Lynn Mayer, Junior, three-time All-American (5th appearance)
High Jump – 5-9 3/4, tied for 3rd in Division II, automatic qualifier, PSAC champion
2010 indoors – t-2nd, 5-8 1/2; 2009 outdoors – t-15th, 5-4 1/4; 2008 outdoors – 6th, 5-8; 2008 indoors – t-5th, 5-7

Janelle Smith, Senior (4th appearance)
High Jump – 5-7 3/4, tied for 8th in Division II, provisional qualifier, 2nd in PSAC
2009 outdoors – 10th, 5-6; 2008 outdoors – t-17th, 5-3; 2008 indoors – 13th, 5-5

Matthew Gallup, Senior (3rd appearance)
Pole Vault – 16-2 3/4, tied for 15th in Division II, provisional qualifier, 3rd in PSAC
2009 outdoors – dnp, no height; 2008 outdoors – dnp, no height

Josh Hontz, Sophomore (1st appearance)
Javelin – 201-11, 12th in Division II, provisional qualifier

4x100m Relay (Asher Ashfield, Ian Melhorn, Chris Reddick, Andrew McCloskey)
40.79, 7th in Division II, provisional qualifier, PSAC champion (McCloskey 100m champion)
2009 outdoors – 9th, 10.92 with 3 of 4 returning (Ashfield, Reddick, Jeff McClenton, McCloskey)

Schedule for ESU Athletes

Thursday, May 27
12:30 p.m. - Men's Hammer Throw finals (Wagner)
4:30 p.m. - Men's Long Jump finals (Miller)
5:30 p.m. - Men's 4x100m Relay prelims
6:25 p.m. - Men's 400m prelims (Graham)

Friday, May 28
No events for ESU athletes

Saturday, May 29
10:00 a.m. - Men's Javelin finals (Hontz)
5:35 p.m. - Women's High Jump finals (Mayer, Smith)
5:45 p.m. - Men's Pole Vault finals (Gallup)
5:50 p.m. - Men's 4x100m Relay finals, if qualified
6:00 p.m. - Men's Triple Jump finals (Miller)
6:54 p.m. - Men's 400m finals, if qualified (Graham)