FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ANTHONY, EASTER QUALIFY FOR NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS AT PENN RELAYS
4x400 relay sets Bates record

LEWISTON, Maine — Bates College sophomore runners Abigail Anthony of Jamestown, R.I., and Justin Easter of Jay, Maine, each qualified for the NCAA Division III outdoor track and field championships with their April 26 performances at the prestigious Penn Relays in Philadelphia, Pa.

Anthony placed 11th in the 10,000-meter championship run with a time of 36:21.81. Anthony's time met the automatic standard for the NCAA qualifying and established a new school record by more than one minute Her record broke the time established by Karen Palermo (Class of 1984) in 1984. Anthony was an All-America in the 10,000-meters in 2000, when she placed sixth.

Easter qualified for his sixth NCAA appearance in two years at Bates with his fifth-place finish in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, college division. His time of 9:04.53 was one second shy of his lifetime best and four seconds off the school record set by Matt Twiest (Class of 2000) last year. Easter's time is the second-best in the NCAA Division III this season.

The Bates men's team also sent two relay teams to the Penn Relays. The 4x400 relay team of Hob Brooks of Eastford, Conn.; Pat Boyaggi of Cleveland, Ohio; Stephen Gresham of Milton, Mass.; and Eric Zwick of Virginia Beach, Va., set a school record with their time of 3:20.91. The relay finished third in their heat and shaved 0.01 second off the previous school record. The 4x100 relay team of Sean Atkins of New York, N.Y.; Kevin Jackson of Woodbury, N.J.; Boyaggi; and Zwick had a season-best performance of 43.56 seconds and finished fourth in their heat.