Lafond earns pair of All-American honors

By UMO Sports Information
Published in Sports on March 15, 2014 11:12 PM

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WINSTON-SALEM -- Dylan Lafond became the University of Mount Olive's first-ever, three-time All-American in track and field competition during the 2014 NCAA Division II men's indoor track championships contested Saturday.

A sophomore, Lafond placed fifth in the mile run with a time of 4 minutes, 12.71 seconds on the JDL Fast Track at Winston-Salem State University. Later in the evening, Lafond took 17th overall in the 3,000-meter run.

One day earlier, Lafond participated on the distance medley relay that ended up eighth overall in 10:04.21. He was joined by Karl Goodman, Aki Kitigawa and Jacob Urys. The quartet edged Sioux Falls (S.D.) by 0.48 seconds to claim the final All-America spot.

A year ago, Lafond grabbed All-America accolades in the 3,000-meter steeplechase during the 2013 NCAA Division II men's outdoor track and field championship meet.

Baseball

MOUNT OLIVE -- Justin Manning stroked a home run and Bradon Reitano provided two hits during as the University of Mount Olive claimed game two, 5-2, against in-state Conference Carolinas foe Pfeiffer University on Saturday afternoon.

The Falcons won the opener 10-8.

Manning, Jay Gonzalez, DeAndre Allen, Rob Shipman (RBI), Luke Barry, Bretton Gouthro and Cody Britt (RBI) each had a hit in the nightcap.

Tyler Joyner claimed the pitching win. Josh Frederick tossed 22/3 innings of two-strikeout relief, while Brody McDonald notched the save with one inning of work.

UMO started the three-game weekend series with a 14-0 victory on Friday evening. Freshman Kodi Whitley improved to 3-0 on the mound with six strong innings of work. He held Pfeiffer to one hit and fanned five batters.

Taylor Carr provided two innings of three-hit relief. Sophomore Hunter Barnett struck out the side in the ninth.

Gonzalez, Allen, Reitano (four RBI), Shipman (two RBI) and Willi Martin cranked out two hits apiece in the shutout victory.

Mount Olive (17-8 overall, 5-1 CC) entertains Southern New Hampshire on Monday.

Men's lacrosse

MOUNT OLIVE -- Matt Shields punched in a game-high six goals and the University of Mount Olive ran past Ohio Valley, 23-6, in a non-conference match contested at Amon Field on Friday afternoon.

The Trojans (6-1 overall) extended their win streak to four matches.

Brett Kingston's man-up goal early in the second quarter triggered a 10-0 run for UMO. Cameron Walsh, Shields and brother Matt helped the Trojans build a comfortable seven-goal advantage at halftime.

Rob Thomas' goal early in the third period capped the surge.

Overall, 13 UMO players scored in the game. Trojan goalies Rob Bowman and Dorian Gabrek combined for 13 saves.

Mount Olive plays host to St. Leo (Fla.) University on Tuesday. Face-off is 2 p.m. at Amon Field.