BRONX, N.Y. (January 28, 2012) – Rutgers men’s track and field won its second-straight team title of the season, scoring 154 points to claim the 2012 Metropolitan Indoor Championships on Friday, Jan. 27, at the Armory Track and Field Center in Bronx, N.Y.

Coming off a victory at the Navy Quad meet last week, the Scarlet Knights followed that performance with another stellar team effort, earning wins in five events at the Metropolitan Championships. RU finished second at last year’s meet and won the title in 2010.

Steve Werner (Newtown Sq., Pa.) won the 200-meter dash in 22.09 to lead a 1-2-3 Rutgers contingent as Kevin Brown (Boonton, N.J.) finished second in 22.25, followed by freshman Corey Crawford (Oakland, N.J.) who took third in 22.26.

Brown won the 400-meter dash with a time of 48.60, while freshman D’Andre Jordan (Brooklyn, N.Y.) placed third in 48.91. Senior Monroe Kearns (Jackson, N.J.) finished third in the 800-meter, running a time of 1:55.31.

Senior Ben Forrest (Jackson, N.J.) took fourth in the 1,000-meter run, posting a time of 2:30.40. Karon Purcell (East Windsor, N.J.) was fifth in the 500-meter dash, clocking a time of 1:05.73. In the 4x400-meter relay, Rutgers placed fifth as Jordan, Brown, Werner and Corey Caidenhead (Bergenfield, N.J.) combined to run a time of 3:22.17.

The Distance Medley relay team of Kearns, Forrest, Chris DeFabio (Millington, N.J.) and Steve Burkholder (Marlton, N.J.) placed second with a time of 10:14.04. The Scarlet Knights picked up a third-place showing in the 4x800-meter relay with Purcell, Curtis Richburg (West Orange, N.J.), Casey Weiss (New Foundland, N.J.) and Hamer Farag (Morristown, N.J.) running a time of 7:46.89.

In the field events, senior Adam Bergo (Plainfield, N.J.) won the high jump, clearing a height of 2.16 meters, while Glenn Scheideler (Randolph, N.J.) placed fourth, topping a mark of 2.04 meters. Crawford won the long jump, recording a leap of 7.59 meters. Bergo also competed in the long jump, placing fifth (6.92 meters).

Rutgers secured three top-five finishes in the pole vault, led by a winning performance from Chris Wyckoff (Toms River, N.J.) who cleared the bar at 4.95 meters. Pat Gray (East Windsor, N.J.) took third (4.65), while Anthony Genco (Kailau, Hawaii) placed fifth with a mark of 4.35 meters.

Senior James Plummer (Toms River, N.J.) scored points in a pair of events as he placed second in the shot put with a throw of 16.51 meters. Plummer also finished third in the weight throw, recording a mark of 15.61 meters.

Freshman Mike Fritz (Whippany, N.J.) finished second in the heptathlon with 4,621 points. Fritz won the heptathlon shot put (12.35m), placed second in the 60-meter dash (7.34) and finished second in the 60-meter hurdles  (8.62).

Rutgers will return to action on Friday, Feb. 3 for the Notre Dame Invitational in South Bend, Ind.

Team Score

1. Rutgers                                    164

2. Manhattan                             122

3. Fordham                                 101

4. So. Conn. St.                          89

5. Long Island                             77

6. St. Peter's                               38.5

7. St. Francis (N.Y.)                  38

8. Iona                                          37

9. Wagner                                   35

10. NYU                                        24

10. Stony Brook                        24

12. Ramapo                                14.5

13. Fairleigh Dickinson    12

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