For Release at Will May 26, 2000

Contact: Mark Duzenski, SID

Phone: (610) 328-8206

At the Centennial Conference Women's Track and Field Championships held at Swarthmore College, sophomore Imo Akpan (Bronx, NY &endash; Stevenson) set school and conference records in the 400-meter dash. The sprinter covered the distance in a time of 56.66 seconds to qualify for the NCAA Division III Track and Field Championships held at North Central College in Naperville, IL, this weekend.

Senior Desiree Peterkin (Staten Island, NY &endash; Strath Haven (PA)) was a double winner capturing the long jump and the triple jump. Peterkin set a school and conference records with a leap of 18'6.5" in the long jump. She also became the first conference athlete to win the triple jump in four consecutive years, doing so with a leap of 37'1.75" . Both jumps qualify her for her fourth trip to the NCAA Championships.

Junior Sarah Jay (Barnstable, MA &endash; Barnstable) captured the 1500-meter run in a time of 4:54.11, while classmate Joko Agunloye (Jamaica, NY &endash; Hillcrest) won the 5,000-meter run in a time of 18:26.43. Agunloye will join Akpan and Peterkin at the NCAA Championships.

On the men's side, junior Marc Jeuland (Chicago, IL &endash; Lincoln Park) was a double winner, capturing the 10,000-meter run in a time of 32:39.90 defeating his closest competitor by over 23 seconds. He came back on the next day of competition to win the 5,000-meter run in 15:35.05 defeating the field by over 15 seconds.

Each gold medalist earns first-team All-Centennial Conference honors.

Swarthmore College is a highly selective liberal arts college located 11 miles southwest of Philadelphia in Swarthmore, PA.

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