2009 CAC Co - Ro o ki e of the Ye ar
Mandy Parshall
2010 York College Women's Track & Field
2010 York College Women’s Track & Field
SPARTAn CoACHing STAFF Head Coach
Rebecca Lankford 15th Season Rebecca Lankford enters her 15th season as the head coach of York College’s women’s track & field program. Lankford’s immense experience combined with a strong core of returning upperclassmen should produce another successful 2010 campaign. This year, the Spartans are looking to produce even more Capital Athletic Conference champions after posting four during last season’s championship meet. Lankford was a former competitor for the Falcons of Messiah College. During her collegiate experience, she ran qualifying times for Division III Nationals in the 400m, 800m and 4 x 400 relay. She still holds track records at Messiah in these events. She was also a four-year starter for the Falcon field hockey squad, earning both all-conference and all-region awards. Lankford earned a B.A. in Health and Physical Education from Messiah College. She also holds a Master’s Degree in Health Education from Penn State. She is a certified Level 1 track & field coach. She also has various fitness certifications including personal trainer, aerobics instructor, yoga and tai chi instructor. Lankford teaches several classroom and activity-based courses in York’s Physical Education Department. Lankford resides in West York with her husband, Dave, and two daughters, Kari, 12, and Megan, 10.
2010 Spartan Captains Top: Laura Colantuono, Ally Montello, Melody Parshall Bottom: Mackenzie Kauffman, Alaina Smelko
The York College women’s track & field team approaches the 2010 season with renewed expectations after a record-breaking 2009 season. The Spartan women broke seven school records and earned four first-place titles for the first time at the Capital Athletic Conference Championships last year. Overall the team placed third in the meet but look to jump into the top two this year. The Green and White begin the year with 21 returners, including a handful of seniors and three All-CAC performers. “We have a larger team than last season, including some freshmen that could be key contributors already,” Spartan head coach Rebecca Lankford said as she embarks on her 15th season with the program. “My goal is for them to improve and perform even better than last season. I would like to break and reset even more YCP school records.” The strength of the team lies in junior Caitlin Rizzardo and senior captain Alaina Smelko. Rizzardo is a two-time CAC champion in the pole vault and has become one of the best pole-vaulters in the Division III area. In 2009, she broke her own pole-vaulting record en route to her second consecutive title. After recovering from a year-long foot injury, Smelko looks to return as one of the top triplejumpers in the league. Despite last season’s setback, she still set a new school record in the triple jump. Now healthy, Smelko is set up for a tremendous senior campaign. The Spartans’ 4 X 400 relay has each of the four legs returning for this year. Laura Zimmerman, Amanda Parshall, Allyson Montello, and Smelko all return from their 2009 second-place finish in the conference meet. With all four a year older, stronger, and wiser, this relay squad has the potential to nab a CAC title in 2010. York garnered four first-place finishes for the first time ever at the CAC Championships, yet Lankford is not content with just that. “We are still looking to place higher in CAC Championships,” Lankford said, “where for most years since the beginning of women’s track at York College we have placed third. We would like to break through that barrier and place in the top two.” Parshall, joined the second-place relay team as a freshman last season. Making an immediate impact, she also set a new school record and claimed the title in the 1500 at the 2009 CAC meet while also securing the 800 crown. Those outstanding marks led to her capturing CAC Co-Rookie-of-the-Year honors. For such a young student-athlete she held the teams highest score with 76.75 points. Zimmerman set a new Spartan record in both the 100- and 200-meter races last season. A key member of both relay teams, she also participates in javelin and was a top performer last season. Zimmerman tallied 73.5 points in 2009, ranking her second on the squad, and will look for an even better showing this year. Mackenzie Dolan, a junior, is the only returning thrower for the York side. Lankford feels this will make Dolan step up and be a leader to her younger teammates. Dolan’s strongest event is hammer while she also competes in shot and discus. In 2009, the Green and White won both the Lebanon Valley Invitational and the Goucher Track & Field Classic. With so many key performers returning to the 2010 roster, the Spartan women should have no problem setting the bar even higher this season. They will look into the upcoming campaign knowing they have the potential to be one of the best teams in the CAC. “As a program, last season was a big step for us in winning some meets as well as setting seven new school records,” Lankford said. “We are not content with what we have accomplished but want to achieve even more success as a program. Our focus will be to keep pushing to achieve better individual performances that will strengthen us as an entire team unit.” The Green and White compete in a trio of indoor meets, including two in February, leading up to their own York College Spring Opener. The Spartans first outdoor meet of the year is slated for a 10:00 a.m. start on Saturday, March 13.
2010 York College Women’s Track & Field
2010 WoMen'S TRACk & FieLd PRevieW
date dec. 12 Feb. 13 Feb. 19 Mar. 13 Mar. 19 Mar. 24 Mar. 27 Apr. 10 Apr. 17
2010 SPARTAn WoMen’S TRACk & FieLd
Apr. 24 May 1
opponent @ dickinson indoor invitational @ Susquehanna indoor invitational @ Susquehanna indoor open York College Spring opener @ Lebanon valley Meet gettysburg, Messiah Tri-Meet @ goucher Classic @ Messiah College Falcon invitational CAC Championship Meet @ Salisbury, Md Paul kaiser invitational @ Shippensburg, PA York College Alumni/Charity open
Time 10:00 AM 10:00 AM 4:00 PM 10:00 AM 2:00 PM 3:30 PM 10:00 AM 9:00 AM 9:00 AM
10:00 AM
Senior Captain Alaina Smelko
10:00 AM
WoMen’S TRACk & FieLd oUTdooR ReCoRdS event
Student-Athlete
Year
Record
event
Student-Athlete
Year
Record
100 M
Laura Zimmerman
2009
:13.14
1600 Relay
A. Montello, A. Smelko 2009
4:15.70
200 M
Laura Zimmerman
2009
:27.36
400 M
Heather o’deay
1996
1:01.50
High Jump
kate Paczynski
2009
4’11.84”
800 M
Jen Myers
1996
2:23.00
Pole vault
Caitlin Rizzardo
2009
10’8.74”
1500 M
Amanda Parshall
2009
4:57.39
Shotput
dana Mazie
1997
37’5.75”
3000 M
Beth Ann Hooper
1999
11:00.00
discus
katie Regar
1998
126’10”
3k Steeple
Jen Weiss
2003
12:10.90
Javelin
erin Yesser
2004
127’10”
5000 M
Jen Mlinarick
2002
19:30.10
Hammer
Sarah Becker
2007
133’11”
10,000 M
Stephanie Hult
2006
43:32.40
Long Jump
Sara Maurer
2005
16’7.25”
100 Hurdles Sara Maurer
2005
:16.37
Triple Jump Alaina Smelko
2009
34’06.96”
400 Hurdles Jennelle Yinger
2006
1:08.51
400 Relay
2004
:51.68
S. Maurer, k. Fritz
L. Zimmerman, A. Parshall
H. noll, J. Talton
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