TROY, N.Y. – The Liberty League has announced its weekly awards in men's and women's outdoor track & field and five Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) student-athletes have been honored. Austin Drexler, Ja'Mar Watson and Stephen Silber were named the men's Track Performer, Field Performer and Rookie of the Week, respectively, while Lindsey Rappleyea and Janice Galejs were selected as the Field Performer and Rookie of the Week, respectively on the women's side.
A junior from Houston, Texas, Drexler was named Track Performer of the Meet at this year's Liberty League Championships helping RPI to its 3rd straight title. He won the 100-meter dash (11.26) and also helped the 4x100 relay team to victory (44.18). Additionally, Drexler was fourth in the 200m-dash (23.94) as well as first in the long jump and second in the high jump. This is the sixth weekly honor and second of the outdoor season for the former St. Thomas High School standout.
Watson, a senior from Baltimore, Md., garnered Field Performer of the Meet honors at the conference meet, winning two events for the Engineers. He won the hammer throw in an NCAA Provisional distance of 55.05 meters and also claimed victory in the discus throw (41.16m). Watson was also second in the shot put (12.17m). The former Glenelg High School standout has now garnered 10 Field Performer of the Week honors, including each of the last eight handed out by the league.
A freshman out of Blossvale, N.Y., Silber claimed victory in the high jump (1.84m) and also helped the 4x100 relay team to a win (44.18) as RPI captured the league title. Additionally, he was third in the 200-dash (23.88). Silber has now earned weekly honors three times this season and in each of the last two weeks. He is a graduate of Mount Anthony Union High School.
Rappleyea, a sophomore from Colts Neck, N.J., was named the Field Performer of the Meet at the Liberty League Championships, winning three events as the RPI women claimed their third straight title. She won the long jump (4.88m), the triple jump (10.97m) and the high jump (1.51m) and also finished seventh in the javelin (25.33m). This is the second weekly honor for the High Technology/Colts Neck High School graduate, who has posted at least one victory in two of the three outdoor meets this season.
A rookie who hails from Carlisle, Mass., Galejs had an outstanding performance at the League Meet, finishing top three in all four events she competed. She won the 200-dash (28.26) and also helped the 4x400 relay team to victory (4:15.67). A former standout at Concord-Carlisle High School, she was also third in the 400-dash (63.51) and helped the 4x100 relay to second (53.55).
The track & field teams are back in action on Saturday when they participate in the All-American Meet, hosted by East Stroudsburg University. Track events kick off the meet at 10am.
