Montclair, NJ – Freshman JOHN GRIFFITH of the Montclair State men's outdoor track and field team was named the New Jersey Athletic Conference Outstanding Field Athlete of the Year to highlight the All-NJAC teams Friday.

Griffith posted three top-10 finishes at the NJAC Outdoor Championships on Sunday, joins Ernest Tymes (2002), Nick Serpico (2003), Branden Grantham (2006), and current assistant coach Eugene Asimou (2008) to be named Outstanding Field Athlete of the Year. The NJAC teams are based on finishes at the NJAC Championships, which were contested last weekend as the Red Hawks placed fourth.

The rookie won the shot put where he threw 14.71m on the third attempt to edge Will Gross of Stockton, who reached 14.17m.  Griffith also scored points in the hammer throw and discus, placing sixth and second, respectively. He hit 41.59m in the hammer before throwing the hammer 44.63m. With his second-place throw in the discus, Griffith gains Second Team All-NJAC in that event.

Joining Griffith on the First Team was senior DAMIEN VALENTINE. Valentine takes First Team honors in the javelin, winning a throw of 60.28m. That toss not only was a personal best, but it currently ranks him sixth nationally. Valentine also upended Dan McAleavey of Rowan for the javelin title, as McAleavey is currently third nationally, reaching 62.36m at the Stockton Invitational on March 26.

The Red Hawks tallied four Third Team honors as well. Senior NANA ANTI claimed Third Team in the 100m. Anti, who placed first in his heat during the preliminaries in 10.91 in the 100, finished third in the finals. He clocked in at 10.9, just .19 seconds behind first and .05 out of second. Rookie OWEN FOGARTY was Third Team in the pole vault, hitting a height of 4.25m. 

The foursome of ROSHAUN WILSON, SEBASTIAN CORTES, TIM GOSS, and Anti finished in 42.58, .28 seconds out of second place. Additionally, NA'IM KINSEY placed third in the shot put, reaching a distance of 13.97m. That distance marked a PR for Kinsey, who beat his previous best by .22m.