May 25, 2006
EMPORIA, Kan. – Southern Connecticut State University junior Merline "Stacey" Egbert (Danbury, Conn.) finished fifth in the country in the women's long jump during Day 1 of the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track and Field Championships on Thursday at Emporia State University's Welch Stadium. By scoring in the event, Egbert was named an All-American.
Egbert's best jump of the day was her first, breaking her own school record with a leap of 19 feet, 4 ¾ inches (5.91 meters). She was first among Northeast region competitors, edging out the University of Massachusetts Lowell's sixth-place Esia Johnson by less than an inch. Zolymar Febles of the University of Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras was the national champion (20 feet, ½ inch). Egbert is a graduate of Danbury High.
Also on Thursday, graduate student Ramon Laboy (Danbury, Conn.) advanced to the finals in the men's 3,000-meter steeplechase. During qualifiying, Laboy placed third in his heat and sixth overall with a time of nine minutes, 22.29 seconds. Laboy will compete in the finals on Saturday at 5:15 p.m.
Owl junior Mike Cebula (White Plains, N.Y.) finished 16th in the 1,500-meter run and did not advance to the finals. Cebula ran a 4:05.77 in Thursday's preliminaries.
Complete results can be viewed at http://flashresults.com/2006_Meets/outdoor/ncaa2/. Championship information is available at http://www.emporia.edu/athletics/track/champ/.
