April 29, 2009
PHILADELPHIA - With defending champions in four events from last year, two NCAA times and several ECAC/IC4A times this season, the La Salle track and field squad looks to continue its success at the Atlantic 10 Championships this weekend. The league meet is scheduled for Saturday and Sunday (5/2 and 5/3) on the Irwin Belk Track & Field Center on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
The Explorer men finished third in the team standings at last year's meet and are predicted to finish fifth this weekend. Challenging the Explorers will be meet host Charlotte, picked to finish first, followed by defending league champion Rhode Island, Duquesne and Massachusetts. The Explorer women are tabbed to finish sixth after last year's seventh place showing. The Charlotte women are also expected to finish atop the league standings, followed by Dayton, Rhode Island, Richmond and Temple.
On the women's side, senior Christa Plummer looks to challenge the league's distance runners this weekend. Plummer hit two NCAA times this season as she qualified provisionally in the 10,000 meter run at the Stanford Invitational and qualified for the regional meet in the 5,000 meter run at the Larry Ellis Invitational. She is a two-time indoor 3,000 meter champion, having won the event in 2008 and 2009. At last year's Atlantic 10 meet, she finished second in the 3,000 meter steeplechase and fifth in the 5,000 meter run. Plummer's time of 34:47.93 in the 10K at the Stanford Invitational ranks her first in the conference in that event this season. She also has the second-highest time in the 5,000 meter run with a 16:38.49, behind Richmond's Nicol Traynor.
Also contending on the women's side is senior middle-distance runner Meaghan Hobson. Hobson ran the third leg of an ECAC qualifying 4x800 meter relay squad at the Penn Relays last week. She broke her own school records during the indoor season as she set new marks in the 400- and 500- meter races. Hobson was also the winner of the 800 meter event at Boston University's Terrier Invitational late in the indoor season. So far this outdoor season, she has run the third best time in the Atlantic 10 in the 800 meters, just behind Charlotte's Aja Jackson and Dayton's Ashley Cattran.
Rookie Samantha Gallagher will also try to leave her mark. She ranks fourth in the conference in the 3,000 meter steeplechase event as she ran an 11:09.33 at the Larry Ellis Invitational.
On the men's side, senior Korey Edwards enters this weekend as the defending 1,500 meter champion. Edwards won the event last year with a time of 3:53.64, and ran an IC4A time in the same event at the Larry Ellis Invitational this past month. His time at the Ellis Invite is tops in the conference this season. Edwards is also the reigning Atlantic 10 indoor 1,000 meter champion and placed first in the 1,000 meter run preliminaries at the IC4A Indoor Championship. He is also near the top of the league in the 800 meter run, owning the fifth-highest time this season.
Senior hurdler Steven Rendall also looks to get back to action and returns to the Atlantic 10 meet as the defending champion in both the 110- and 400-meter hurdles. Rendall won those events last year with times of 14.53 and 53.50, respectively. He ran a strong indoor season, having finished third in the league in the 55 meter hurdles and ran IC4A qualifying times in nearly every race during the season. His 110 meter hurdle time of 14.37 at the McHale Invitational ranks him second in the conference, just behind Charlotte's Korel Mack.
Junior Trevon Rainford will also be a force this weekend. He owns the fourth-best 1,500 meter time and fifth-best 3,000 meter steeplechase time. He ran a 3:51.61 in the 1,500 meters at the Raleigh Relays and a 9:14.51 in the steeplechase at the Larry Ellis Invitational.
Also looking to make a splash again are the relay teams. The men's 4x800 meter relay squad won the gold at last year's meet and look to repeat. Terence McPeak, Rollin Deas, David Laratta and Joe Fedorowicz combined to run a 7:41.09 in the 4x800 at the Penn Relays last week to qualify for IC4A's.
The women's 4x800 meter relay squad has also seen success this outdoor season. Kellilyn Fierras, Caitlin Storbeck, Meaghan Hobson and Emily Paffett combined for an ECAC time of 9:01.73 to place 10th in a race that saw 19 teams run qualifying times. That time ranks second in the Atlantic 10 this season, just eight-hundredths of a second behind Fordham's squad.
For a schedule of events as well as live audio and video streaming of the meet, visit www.atlantic10.org. Complete results and recaps will be available right here on GoExplorers.com at the end of each competition day.
