Bloomsburg's Cherise Mercer Wins 800-Meter Title at PSAC Championships

MANSFIELD —Bloomsburg University women's track standout Cherise Mercer (Philadelphia/Bishop McDevitt) took home a first place finish at 800-meters on Saturday at the 2005 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Track and Field Championships.

Mercer, who beat her best time by more than three seconds, ran a stadium record time of 2:13.23 and the 17th fastest time in NCAA Division II this season. She is now a provisional qualifier for the NCAA national championships at the end of the month.

Also on Saturday, Katie Conlon (Inkerman/Pittston Area) was 8th at 1500 meters in a time of 4:58.80, while the 4 x 400 relay team of Connie Raineri (Gilbertsville/Pius X), Conlon, Laura Duceman (Mt. Carmel/Mt. Carmel) and Mercer finished out of the top three, but still managed a 4:03.68, their best ever time by more than five seconds.

On the men's side, Greg McGhee (Philadelphia/Cheltenham) was in second place in the 100 meters when a hamstring pull with 20 meters remaining left him in sixth place in a time of 11:07 seconds.

Also, Dave Sanford (Nescopeck/Central Columbia) took seventh in the 1500 meters in a time of 4:06.