USTFCCCA release

EAST STROUDSBURG – Chris Merli has been named the Atlantic Region Men's Outdoor Track & Field Assistant Coach of the Year by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) for the second straight year.

Merli, who coaches East Stroudsburg University's sprinters, hurdlers and jumpers, helped the Warriors to a runner-up finish at the PSAC Championships and qualified three athletes for the NCAA Championships, along with a second straight trip for the 4x100m relay team.

Merli is in his 13th year as an assistant coach at ESU and has completed his fourth season as the head coach of the women's program. Men's head coach Joe Koch was also recognized as the Atlantic Region Head Coach of the Year in 2009, along with Merli's honor as the top assistant coach.

He guided senior Drew Miller (triple jump) and junior Negus Graham (400m) to automatic qualifying performances for the NCAA's, which will be held Thursday through Saturday at UNC Charlotte's Irwin Belk Complex. Miller is also qualified in the long jump and senior Matthew Gallup will compete in the pole vault.

Miller's mark of 50-8 3/4 in the triple jump is tied for fifth-best in Division II and Graham's time of 46.64 ranks seventh in the 400m. Both athletes won PSAC championships and Miller was third in the long jump as ESU finished second behind Shippensburg (163.5 to 159.5) with a school record point total.

The 4x100m relay of junior Asher Ashfield, sophomore Ian Melhorn and seniors Chris Reddick and Andrew McCloskey defended its PSAC title and broke its own school record with a time of 40.79 seconds, the seventh-best entering the NCAA's.

McCloskey also defended his PSAC title in the 100m dash and was second in the 200, one of five Warriors to qualify for the finals in the event. Graham won the 400 after running his automatic qualifying time in the prelims and senior Rusty Smith was second in the 110m hurdles.

The 4x400m relay (Reddick, Melhorn, junior Greg Pammer, Graham) won the PSAC championship as well with a provisional qualifying time of 3:14.29, the first time ESU has won both the 4x100 and 4x400 at a conference meet. The quartet also won ESU's first Wetzler/PA 4x400m title at the Penn Relays since 1985.

All told, the Warriors scored 94 points from the sprints (100, 200, 400, 4x100 and 4x400 relays), 110 hurdles, triple jump, long jump and pole vault, which would have ranked third in the conference in the overall team standings. Merli also coached a pair of decathletes, sophomore Dan Johnson (2nd) and senior Colin Feeney (4th).

ESU will send seven individuals and the 4x100 relay to the NCAA Championships: Miller (triple jump, long jump), Graham (400m), Gallup (pole vault), senior Paul Wagner (hammer), sophomore Josh Hontz (javelin) and senior Janelle Smith and junior Lynn Mayer (women's high jump).

In the last three years, ESU has had 12 men's and five women's athletes selected to compete in the NCAA Championships in a total of 38 events, along with the men's relays. The Warriors have also broken 33 school records in that time span.