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Contact: Bob Ross
Phone: 386-226-6198
Embry-Riddle Teams Score Second and Fourth in National Flight Meet
Daytona Beach, Fla., May 27, 2009 -- Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University’s two renowned student flight teams placed second and fourth at this year’s National Intercollegiate Flying Association’s (NIFA) Safety and Flight Evaluation Conference (SAFECON), hosted May 17-23 by Parks College of St. Louis University.
The university’s Daytona Beach, Fla., campus team, the Eagles, moved up to second place in the nation in the competition, an improvement from their third-place ranking of last year. The team won the national championship in 1992.
The Prescott, Ariz., campus team, the Golden Eagles – a powerhouse group of flyers who have been national champions seven times since 1993 – came in fourth with 288 points overall, only three points out of third place.
This year’s competition involved 335 pilots from 28 aviation programs around the nation. 
The Eagles also won first place in the Flight Events category and scored first-place finishes in five individual events – Navigation (pilots Derek Herchko and Jon Hester), Computer Accuracy (Derek Herchko), Crew Resource Management (Michael Crowley and Tim Lerner-Lam), Aircraft Recognition (Blake Glass), and Instrument Flight Rules (Steven Pellegrino).
The Golden Eagles’s student pilot Cassie Nagle was the nation’s top-scoring female contestant, capturing the Candi Kubek Award, and the team of pilots Dustin Hagadone and Josh Seay took second place in the American Airlines Safety Event.
Dave Zwegers, coach of the Daytona Beach campus team, said, “We’re pleased that we exceeded our previous years’ results, which have been continuously improving -- 10th place in 2005, sixth place in 2006, third place in 2007, and third place in 2008.”
Matthew Waterhouse, head coach of the Prescott team, said, “As national champions for the past two years, we went in with high expectations. We were definitely disappointed, but I think losing every once in a while will make our team members appreciate winning the national championship in the future.”
RANKINGS OF EMBRY-RIDDLE INDIVIDUALS/TEAMS
| Event |
Place |
Individual/Team |
| Message Drop |
4 |
Elizabeth Hunt/Tim Lerner-Lam/Eagles |
|
9 |
Jon Hester/Derek Herchko/Eagles |
|
10 |
Jonathan Myers/Joshua Reinertsen/Eagles |
| Navigation |
1 |
Derek Herchko/Jon Hester/Eagles |
|
4 |
Sherman Carll/Matt Cullen/Eagles |
|
7 |
Jahvan Dechape/Andrew Garrett/Golden Eagles |
|
10 |
Grant Culver/Thad Short/Golden Eagles |
|
15 |
Michael Crowley/Tim Lerner-Lam/Eagles |
| Simulated Comprehensive |
2 |
Derek Herchko/Eagles |
| Aircraft Navigation |
6 |
Cassie Nagle/Golden Eagles |
|
7 |
Sherman Carll/Eagles |
|
10 |
Tim Lerner-Lam/Eagles |
|
19 |
Grant Culver/Golden Eagles |
| Computer Accuracy |
1 |
Derek Herchko/Eagles |
|
9 |
Sherman Carll/Eagles |
|
10 |
Kisa Wiley/Golden Eagles |
|
14 |
Andrew Garrett/Golden Eagles |
|
15 |
Grant Culver/Golden Eagles |
|
18 |
Jonathan Myers/Eagles |
| Crew Resource Management |
1 |
Michael Crowley/Tim Lerner-Lam/Eagles |
|
3 |
Cassie Nagle/Greg Oden/Golden Eagles |
| Ground Trainer |
7 |
Stephen Neumann/Golden Eagles |
|
9 |
Brendan Vinchesi/Golden Eagles |
| Preflight Inspection |
9 |
Grant Culver/Golden Eagles |
|
14 |
Josh DeWeese/Golden Eagles |
|
19 |
Jonathan Hester/Eagles |
| Certified Flight Instructor |
3 |
Michael Crowley/Eagles |
| Aircraft Recognition |
1 |
Blake Glass/Eagles |
|
2 |
Thad Short/Golden Eagles |
|
5 |
Phil Rademacher/Eagles |
|
6 |
Chris Purcell/Golden Eagles |
|
10 |
Chris Thelan/Golden Eagles |
|
12 |
Matt Cullen/Eagles |
|
18 |
Dan Williams/Eagles |
|
19 |
Kevin Porter/Eagles |
| Instrument Flight Rules |
1 |
Steven Pellegrino/Eagles |
|
19 |
Greg Oden/Golden Eagles |
| Power-Off Landings |
3 |
Andrew Garrett/Golden Eagles |
|
7 |
Michael Crowley/Eagles |
|
12 |
Thad Short/Golden Eagles |
| Short Field Landings |
3 |
Lance Hagan/Eagles |
| |
4 |
Chris Purcell/Golden Eagles |
| |
12 |
Derek Herchko/Eagles |
| |
15 |
Michael Crowley/Eagles |
| |
19 |
Steven Pellegrino/Eagles |
| American Airlines Safety Award |
2 |
Dustin Hagadone/Josh Seay/Golden Eagles |
| Top Female Contestant |
1 |
Cassie Nagle/Golden Eagles |
|
3 |
Elizabeth Hunt/Eagles |
| Top Male Contestant |
2 |
Derek Herchko/Eagles |
| National Top Pilot |
2 |
Derek Herchko/Eagles |
| Flight Events |
1 |
Eagles team |
|
5 |
Golden Eagles team |
| Ground Events |
3 |
Eagles team |
|
4 |
Golden Eagles team |
| Judges Trophy |
5 |
Golden Eagles team |
| Craig Morrison Award |
1 |
Derek Herchko/Eagles |
| Outstanding Team Member |
|
Eagles team: Derek Herchko |
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Golden Eagles team: Dustin Hagadone |
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, the world’s largest, fully accredited university specializing in aviation and aerospace, offers more than 30 degree programs in its colleges of Arts and Sciences, Aviation, Business, and Engineering, educating more than 34,000 students annually in undergraduate and graduate programs. Doctoral programs in aviation and in engineering physics are pending approval by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) for the University to offer programs at the doctoral level. Embry-Riddle educates students at residential campuses in Prescott, Ariz., and Daytona Beach, Fla., through the Worldwide Campus at more than 130 campus centers in the United States, Europe, Canada, and the Middle East, and through online learning. For more information, visit www.embryriddle.edu.
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