Meadville, Pa. (May 8, 2009) -- At the Third Annual Gator Invitational at Allegheny College on Friday, the Thiel College men's 4x400-meter relay team moved the number of Tomcat provisional national qualifiers to 14 athletes.  That is the most qualifiers in Thiel College history.

The indoor all-America group of Dorran Coley (Kingston, Jamaica/Kingston College), Alex Eaton (Erie, Pa./Cathedral Prep.), Ethan Rowe (Fairmont City, Pa./Redbank Valley), and Deighton Williams (Kingston, Jamacia/Kingston College) raced to a second place finish and a school record time of 3:15.38, joining ten other Thiel College outdoor performers who provisionally qualified for nationals.

Greenville, Pa. native Cara Riffe (Greenville, Pa./Reynolds) improved her qualifying mark with a first place and school record time of 56.4 in the 400-meter dash.  Riffe's 400-meter time ranks is currently the seventh fastest time in the nation.

With nationals at the end of the month, the Thiel College men's and women's track and field teams will have to wait and see which provisional qualifiers will advance to the Division III Outdoor Track and Field National Championships.