DePaul University

CHICAGO - The throwers starred for the DePaul men's and women's track and field teams today at the Badger Track Classic in Madison, Wis.  Brad Millar eclipsed the 20-meter mark in the weight throw for his second provisional NCAA qualification performance, while Tim Nedow, Jim Theologes and Matt Babicz all surpassed the BIG EAST Conference standard in the shot put.

Millar came in first place in the weight throw for the third time this season, stretching the tape to a career-high 20.03m.  The performance currently sits on top of the BIG EAST performance list, while the senior ranks ninth in the nation. 

Tim Vala extended his PR weight throw to 16.41m to place second and earn his second conference championship nod, while Babicz also eclipsed the standard after placing fifth behind a throw of 15.73m.  Babicz's career-record distance was his first BIG EAST qualifying mark in the event.

The domination continued in the men's shot put as three Blue Demons met the BIG EAST standard, in addition to finishing in the top-five.  Nedow won the event with after hitting a mark of 16.53m, while Theologes shattered his previous personal-record with a fourth-place throw of 15.36m.  Babicz earned his second league qualification of the evening, placing fifth behind a distance of 15.17m.  James Waller ended the afternoon with a shot put performance of 13.16m

In the women's 3,000m, Terah Cheatham and Kelsey Dolan gave DePaul the one-two finish, after clocking times of 10:03.82 and 10:52.32, respectively.  Placing fourth was Stacey Schmitz, who logged a time of 11:07.37.  In the men's 3,000m Brian Begalke finished in sixth place after crossing the finish line at the 9:08.01 mark.

Greg Udzielak won the 800m race, logging a team-best time of 1:56.38.  Daniel Steinfels recorded an eight place time of 2:01.66, while Courtney Avvampato placed third in the women's race with a time of 2:23.01.

Tyler Schmitt and Toni Salvatore led the Blue Demons to victory in the 1,000m, as Schmitt took the men's title with a time of 2:42.39, while Salvatore placed first in the women's race after clocking a 3:02.80.

Matthew Graham was the top attached runner in the men's mile, stopping the clock at 4:20.29 to place second overall.  In the women's mile, Kelly Pickering was the top finisher for DePaul, logging a fourth-place time of 5:20.10.  Stephanie Hughes finished right on her heals, just five-tenths of a second behind her, while Claire O'Brien completed the mile in a time of 5:25.22.

Eight student-athletes from DePaul invaded the 300m including Gilbert Lifton, Jamil Chammas, Ryan Bosman, Matthew Holland, and Matthew Pietrus for the men, and Brittney Thomas, Aforo Okraku, and Meredith Klein for the women.  Lifton, Chammas, Bosman and Holland all took over the third through sixth-place positions, respectively, while Pietrus came in eighth place.  Thomas was the top finisher for the women, placing seventh with a time of 43.33, while Okraku and Klein logged times of 44.74 and 45.74.

Pietrus began his evening with the high jump, and lifted the bar to 1.81m for third place.

Drew Edwards and Laura Wilson both placed third in the 500m.  Edwards clocked a time of 1:10.46, while Wilson registered a 1:32.12.

Ivy Moffett took home fourth place in the 60m.  She placed fourth in both the prelims and the finals with time of 8.02 and 8.00, respectively.  Brittany Lewis snatched eight place in both races, and finished the night with an evening-best time of 8.29.  Okraku just missed out on the finals after finished the preliminary run in a time of 8.47.

Meredith Klein bumped herself up to seventh place in the 60m hurdles after qualifying in eighth during the prelims.  After clocking a time of 10.15 in the initial race, she concluded the finals with a performance of 9.97.

In the women's throws, Virginia MacFabe let loose a weight throw of 15.02m to place seventh, while sister Katelyn MacFabe hit a mark of 13.94m.  V. MacFabe would go on to place 11^th in the shot put, while Ebonie Cobb finished just ahead of her in ninth, after logging a throw of 10.84m.

In the long jump, Eddie Anderson covered a distance of 6.54m to take sixth, while Lewis finished in fourth after leaping 4.87m.

In the final event of the evening, Lifton, Udzielak, Bosman and Holland all exchanged the baton in the 4x400m in a time of 3:33.41 to place third.  Pietrus, Edwards, Graham, and Schmitt ran 400m in a collaborative time of 3:41.78.

The women's squad also placed in third, as Salvatore, Pickering, Avvampato, and Hughes logged a mile relay time of 4:19.14.

The Blue Demons return to action next weekend, January 29-30, when a portion of the team travels to Bloomington, Ind. for the Indiana Relays.  The remaining student-athletes are set to compete in the Chicago Duals, hosted by the University of Chicago in Hyde Park.