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1998-99 Season in Review

PHILADELPHIA --(Oct. 22)Temple men's and women's track and field coach Chuck Alexander finished his 22nd season at the helm of the Temple Owls, guiding perhaps his youngest and most inexperienced squads to a successful season. Despite the youthfulness of the teams, the Owls sent two individuals and the 4x400 meter relay team to the outdoor IC4A Championships and sent three individuals to the outdoor ECAC Championships held at George Mason University. The Temple Owls also set five new school records.

The 4x400 meter relay team set a school indoor record with a time of 3:10.58 at the Atlantic 10 Indoor Championships Feb. 20. The members of the mile relay team included juniors Erroll Thurton (Jamaica, N.Y./Martin Van Buren H.S.), Andre Turner (Edgewood, Md./Joppatowne H.S.), Shawn Wilson (New York, N.Y./Brooklyn Tech) and lone senior Bruce Sobers (Brooklyn, N.Y./George Westinghouse). The men's 4x400 meter relay team was ranked ninth in the nation during the indoor season. The 4x200 meter relay team set a indoor record with a time of 1:29.20 at the Dartmouth Invitational Jan. 10. The members of the relay team included freshman Dale Coachman (Springfield, MA./MacDuffie H.S.), sophomore David Parris (Pottsgrave, PA./Pottsgrave H.S.) junior Thurton and senior Sobers.

Thurton set individual school records during the outdoor and indoor season. First, he set the indoor 200-meter dash record with a time of 21.95 at the Boston Invitational Jan. 29-31. Then, he set the outdoor 100-meter dash record with a time of 10.52 at the Atlantic 10 Outdoor Championships. Thurton also qualified for the IC4A's in the 100 and 200-meter dashes. Craig Cower (Horshman, Pa./Hatboro Horshman H.S.) set a school record in the pole vault during the outdoor season with a height of 14'10.00 at the Lehigh Invitational April 10, breaking the fifth oldest school record of 14'9.00 set by George Williams in 1968.

Leading the team during the indoor season in the field events were junior Steve Shaw (Street, Md./North Hartford H.S.) and freshman Teresa Covert (Starrucca, Pa./Susquehanna H.S.). Shaw had a season best in the shot put with a throw of 49'1.75 at the Princeton Invitational on Dec. 11 and placed fifth overall. Covert had a personal best in the long jump with a jump of 17'6.00 at the Princeton Invitational. Senior Jeremy Nunn (Dublin, Pa./Pennridge H.S.) and freshman Doug Mascesino (Downington, Pa./Bishop Shanahan H.S.) led the way in the distance events. Nunn had a season best time of 2:28.20 in the 1000-meter run at the Atlantic 10 Indoor Championships. Mascesino ran a personal best 4:27.25 in the mile at the Atlantic 10 Indoor Championships.

Senior Rhonda Underwood (Cliffwood, N.J./Matawan Regional H.S.), junior Erika Smith (Neptune, N.J./Neptune H.S.) and sophomore Kamal Tucker (Philadelphia, Pa./Laukena Motivational H.S.) led the team in the sprinting events during the indoor season. Underwood had a season best 8.2 in the 55-meter hurdles at the Navy Invitational. Tucker placed first and had a season best time of 6.2 in the 55-meter dash also at the Navy Invitational December 4, 1998. Smith had a personal best time of 7.4 in the 55-meter dash at the Princeton Invitational Dec. 11.

Leading the team during the outdoor season in the field events was freshman Melaine Crumbia (Plainville, CT./Matawan Regional H.S.) and junior Roxanne John (Brooklyn, N.Y./James Madison H.S.). Crumbia recorded a personal best in the discus, with a throw of 149'04.01 and in the shot put with a throw of 36'04.00 at the Lehigh Invitational on April 10. Crumbia also had a season best in the hammer event with a throw of 111'03.00 at the University of Pennsylvania Invitational on April 3. John had a season best throw of 99'10.04 in the javelin at the Lehigh Invitational. Covert recorded a season best jump of 17'10.75 in the long jump at the Lehigh Invitational.

Senior Benita Chandler (Philadelphia, Pa./Central H.S.) and freshman Chanel Dale (Chester, Pa./Chester H.S.) and Crystal Pollard (Ft. Washington, MD./Oxon Hill H.S.) led the way in the middle distance events for the team. Chandler placed third overall in the 400-meter dash at the Atlantic 10 Outdoor Championship with a time of 55.51 and qualified for the ECAC's. Dale had a season best in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:27.04 at the Lafayette Invitational April 17. Pollard had a personal best time of 1:08.9 in the 400-meter hurdles at the University of Pennsylvania Invitational.