April 30, 2008

CENTER VALLEY, Pa. - Navy runner John Olsen (Sr./Staten Island, N.Y.) and thrower Mark Van Orden (So./Morris Plains, N.J.) each produced a NCAA regional-qualifying mark last week and, for their efforts, have been named the Patriot League Track and Field Athlete of the Week, respectively, it was announced by the league office on Tuesday afternoon.

At the prestigious Penn Relays at Franklin Field last Thursday, Olsen kicked off the three-day event for Navy with an impressive career-best time of 8:58.31 in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, good for eighth place. It marked the first time that he finished the 3,000-meter steeplechase in less than nine minutes, which earned him weekly kudos from the league for the first time in his career.

On the final day of the Penn Relays, Van Orden concluded Navy's participation in the meet in similar fashion as it started with Olsen. In the hammer throw, Van Orden uncorked a career-long toss of 195'1" (59.47 meters) to finish second in the event - Navy's highest finish at the Penn Relays. In surpassing the NCAA regional-qualifying standard by nearly nine feet, he claimed his first-career field-athlete-of-the-week distinction from the Patriot League.

The Midshipmen (10-0) will begin the championship portion of their outdoor season when they play host to the 2008 Patriot League Championship at Ingram Field on Friday and Saturday.