SELINSGROVE, Pa. - Susquehanna University will send both a men's and women's 4x400-meter relay team to the 107th Penn Relay Carnival, held Thursday through Saturday at Franklin Field in Philadelphia.
In addition, 2000 NCAA Division III national champion and former Susquehanna standout Adam Ressler will participate in two Olympic Development javelin events at the Penn Relays
The men's team will compete in the Pop Haddleton MAC Relay, which is slated to be held at 5 p.m. on Friday. The Crusader foursome consists of junior Jason Ward (Avondale, Pa./Avon Grove H.S.), senior Nick Hoffman (Boiling Springs, Pa./Boiling Springs H.S.), senior Matt Shingara (Elysburg, Pa./Southern Columbia H.S.) and freshman Clint Swartz (Milton, Pa./Warrior Run H.S.).
Shingara ran for the 1998 relay team that finished sixth in 3:25.48, while Ward and Hoffman competed on the Crusaders' 1999 relay team that finished tenth with a time of 3:30.55. Last year, the Crusaders took 12th in a field of 13 schools with a time of 3:30.85, while the 1985 relay team holds the event record with a time of 3:15.2.
The women will compete in a Middle Atlantic Conference Relay at 4:45 p.m. on Thursday with a team consisting of senior Emily Dugan (Athens, Pa./Athens H.S.), sophomore Alison Ream (Mifflintown, Pa./Juniata H.S.), freshman Jordan Bolduc (Elkton, Md./Padua Academy) and junior Charlotte Gould (Yardley, Pa./Pennsbury H.S.).
Ream, Dugan and Gould all competed on last year's 4x400 relay team that finished ninth out of 14 schools with a time of 4:13.94 in the event, which is made up of teams from the Centennial Conference and the Middle Atlantic Conference.
Ressler (Robesonia, Pa./Conrad Weiser H.S.) will throw in both the Olympic Development Javelin and Olympic Development TurboJav as a member of the Extreme Techniqu team. Last season, he finished 10th in the College Men's Javelin Throw with a distance of 198-2, and was the top finisher among the four non-Division I competitors in a field of 30 throwers.
The TurboJav is a soft-tipped training tool developed by former world record-holder Tom Petranoff and used in competitions around the world. Petranoff will be competing in the event at the Penn Relays.
More than 22,000 competitors will participate in 425 races at this year's Penn Relays, which has been held annually without interruption since 1895 and is the largest and oldest relays meet in the world. Competitors range in age from 8 to 80 and represent 30 states and 60 countries.
