GETTYSBURG, Pa. – The Gettysburg College track & field teams embark on their 2009-10 season this Saturday when they compete in the Dickinson Indoor Invitational.

The men's team returns 12 athletes who placed at the Centennial Conference Championships last season, where the Bullets finished fifth indoors and fourth outdoors. The women's squad brings back seven competitors who were scorers at last year's CC Championships, where Gettysburg took fourth at both meets.

The top returner for either team is senior Vanessa Pabon (New Oxford, Pa./New Oxford), an outstanding all-around competitor. Last year Pabon racked up six medals at the Centennial Conference championships, winning both triple jump titles while taking runner-up honors in the outdoor heptathlon and high jump. In her top event, the triple jump, Pabon missed gaining All-America honors by less than an inch when she took ninth at the NCAA Division III Outdoor Championships. The indoor (37-11 1/4) and outdoor (38-8 1/4) school record holder in the triple jump, she also finished sixth in the event at the ECAC Indoor Championships and fourth at the outdoor ECAC meet. In addition, she took seventh in the outdoor long jump at ECACs.

Also returning for the women's team is junior Kate Adair (Scottsville, N.Y./Our Lady of Mercy), who was the indoor conference runner-up in the high jump. A multi-event competitor as well, Adair finished seventh in the heptathlon a year ago.

Three other athletes are also back after earning points as individuals at last year's conference championships. Junior Megan Murphy (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Mechanicsburg) took sixth in the 400-meter dash at the indoor meet and fourth outdoors while sophomore Meredith Kern (Franklin Lakes, N.J./Indian Hills) was a fifth-place finisher in the discus. Sophomore Kim Meyer (Clarks Summit, Pa./Abington Heights) ran on the 1,600-meter relay team that finished third at both the indoor and outdoor CC meet, and she also placed sixth in the open 400 outdoors. Also running on the bronze-medal winning 4x4 teams were Murphy, senior Casey Lumpkin (Newtown, Pa./Mt. St. Joseph Academy), and junior Kara Tzinivis (Bellmore, N.Y./Kellenberg Memorial).

The women should boast a strong distance team as well after the Bullet cross country team finished fifth this past fall at the NCAA Division III Mideast Regional, where senior Kerrin Epstein (Moravia, N.Y./Moravia) took third to qualify for the NCAA Division III National Championships.

The men's team returns four Bullets who earned individual medals last season in junior Robby Ford (Reistertown, Md./McDonough School), junior Jacob Hochard (Templetown, Mass./Gardners), sophomore Greg Minnick (Williamsport, Md./Williamsport), and senior Rob Dalto (Darien, Conn./Darien). Ford was the conference runner-up in the decathlon, as was Hochard in the discus and Minnick in the outdoor high jump. Dalto came away with the bronze in the outdoor pole vault. Hochard also placed fifth in the indoor 55-meter dash while Ford was seventh in both the indoor 55-meter hurdles and the outdoor pole vault. Minnick also took eighth in the outdoor triple jump and tied for 10th in the high jump at ECACs, where Hochard took 19th in the discus.

Other returnees who scored points at the Centennial Conference Championships last seasons are junior Clay Reynolds (Medway, Mass./Worcester Academy), junior Nick Rosenberger (North Wales, Pa./St. Joseph's Prep School), senior Adrian Macdonald (Westwood, Mass./Westwood), junior Brendan Quigley (Manasquan, N.J./Manasquan), sophomore Dominick Murphy (Union, N.J./Roselle Catholic), junior Jamel Mutunga (Bel Air, Md./Bel Air), and senior Jeff Butterworth (Glenn Mills, Pa./West Chester East).

The team's top middle distance runner, Reynolds was fourth in the 800-meter run and eighth in the 1,500-meter run outdoors and seventh in the mile indoors. He also qualified for the ECAC Championships and placed ninth in the outdoor 800.

Rosenberger is coming off a strong season as a hurdler and sprinter, taking fourth in the 110-meter hurdles, fifth in the 55-meter hurdles, and seventh in the outdoor 200-meter dash at the Centennial Conference Championships. Macdonald placed fifth in the outdoor 800-meter run while Quigley is back after taking seventh in the 400-meter hurdles. Murphy was the seventh-place finisher in javelin, while Mutunga and Butterworth were eighth in the 55-meter dash and the 5,000-meter run, respectively, at the indoor meet.

In addition, senior Chris McCullough (Havertown, Pa./Malvern Prep) returns along with Reynolds and Macdonald from the distance medley relay team that claimed the bronze at the CC indoor meet and finished 12th at the ECAC Championships.

After competing at Dickinson, Gettysburg does not compete again until Jan. 23, when it travels to the Susquehanna Orange & Blue Classic. The Bullets compete at the Centennial Conference Indoor Championships Feb. 27 at Haverford College and open their outdoor season at the Towson Invitational March 20. The Centennial Conference Outdoor Championships will be held April 30-May 2 at Ursinus College.