EAST STROUDSBURG - East Stroudsburg University's Cheryl Griffin and Shavanna Ross swept the outstanding athlete awards as they led the Warrior women's team to second place, their highest finish in the Eastern College Athletic Conference Division II Indoor Track and Field Championships Sunday in the Koehler Fieldhouse.

Griffin was named the meet's outstanding female runner after winning both the 55 and 200-meter dashes and leading the Warriors to victories in both the 4 x 200-meter and 4 x 400-meter relays.

Ross was chosen as the meet's top female field performer on the basis of titles in the 500-meter dash and the high jump. She also anchored the 4 x 400-meter relay team.

The Warriors scored 106 points, their most points ever, to place second to champion Kutztown, which won its first ECAC women's crown with 130 points. ESU Coach Joe Koch shared the ECAC Women's Coach of the Year Award with the Golden Bears' Brian Mondschein.

Binghamton was third with 104 1/2 points, Millersville fourth with 96 and Lock Haven fifth with 76 in the 12-team women's field.

Kutztown also captured the men's title for the fifth straight year with 163 points, easily beating runner-up Lock Haven, which had 123. Millersville placed third with 73 points followed by C.W. Post 60. The ESU men were sixth with 56 1/2 points.

Kutztown pole vaulter Paul Schmitt was chosen as the meet's outstanding male field competition and Lock Haven middle distance runner Matt Souls was selected as the outstanding male runner. The Bald Eagles' Mark Elliston was named the ECAC Men's Coach of the Year.

Schmitt set a meet record in clearing 16-7 1/4 in the vault. Sauls also established meet record with a winning time of 1:04.77 in the 500-meter dash.

The only other meet record was set by Kate Mullins of Binghamton in the pole vault at 11-0 3/4.

It was the first time that the ECAC meet was conducted at ESU and Griffin and Ross made it an event to remember.

Griffin sprinted to victory in the 200-meter dash for the third straight year with a time of 25.27. She won by approximately eight meters over runner-up Nathalee McKenzie of Binghamton, timed in 26.13.

The senior from Walden, N.Y. blazed to her best time of the season of 7.17 in capturing the 55-meter dash over Rasheeda Murphy of Kutztown, second in 7.32. It improved her provisional qualifying standard for the NCAA Division II Track and Field Championships March 8-10 in Boston. She competed in the meet last year after qualifying with a school-record 7.13.

Ross also bettered her NCAA provisional qualifying mark in winning the high jump with a career-best 5-7 1/4. She is now fourth on the national list and 12 jumpers will make the field. Kelly Burns of Kutztown was second at 5-4 3/4.

The ESU senior from William Allen High School set a school record in winning the 500 in 1:17.52. She out-sprinted Kutztown's Niya Adams down the stretch. Adams was timed in 1:17.94.

The Warriors also broke a school record in winning the 4 x 200-meter relay in 1:44.72. Splits were Jen Eye 26.5, Angela Gray 26.4, Jackie Babbini 26.5 and Griffin bringing it home in a team-best 25.1.

The 4 x 400-meter relay had one of the most one-sided victories in the meet, winning by more than four seconds with a time of 3:56.30. Eye led off with a 60.8 followed by Griffin 58.1, Gray 58.8 and Ross 58.3. It was the third time the team has been under four minutes this season.

ESU had one other winner in the meet as Brad Fees leaped to victory in the high jump at 6-8 3/4. The Warriors scored 20 points in the high jump, most by any team in any event, as Mike Newhard was third and Dave Apgar fourth, both at 6-6 3/4.

Gray was second in the 400-meter dash in 1:00.62 and Mark Stinson was runner-up in the long jump at 21-11 1/2. Stinson also took fourth in both the 55 and 200-meter dashes and combined with John Van Soest, Tom Shultz and Dan Garibaldi on a 4 x 200-meter relay which was second.

The Warriors' Quanette Jester placed second in the triple jump at 36-5 1/2 and third in both the high jump at 5-2 3/4 and the long jump at 17-4 to account for 20 individual points.

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