April 23, 2009

PHILADELPHIA - Christa Plummer qualified for the NCAA Regional meet in the 5,000 meter run to lead the Explorers on the first day of the Penn Relays.

Plummer ran a 16:38.49 to hit the regional mark. She placed 13th out of 35 runners in the event. This marks the second time this outdoor season that she hit an NCAA mark, as she provisionally qualified for the 10K at the Stanford Invitational last month.

David Alfano competed in the men's 5,000 meter championship race and clocked a 14:42.78 for 18th place out of 29. He was just eight seconds off of the IC4A qualifying time.

Also in action was the women's distance medley relay squad, run by Caitlin Storbeck, Jalessa Graham, Meaghan Hobson and Stephanie Bearish. They combined to run a 12:08.95 for 10th place out of 14 teams.

The Explorers continue at the Penn Relays tomorrow with the men's 4x100 competing at 12:35 PM, the men's distance medley relay at 4:00 PM and the men's 4x400 at 5:25 PM, while the rest of the squad heads to the Lion Invitational at The College of New Jersey in Ewing, N.J.