Jan. 31, 2010
PHILADELPHIA - Strong times abound this weekend as the Explorers track and field program split time across two meets - the Terrier Invitational at Boston University and the Wesley A. Brown Invitational at the United States Naval Academy. The men's squad combined for seven IC4A qualifying times, while the women earned three ECAC qualifying times.
At BU, Tyler Jones, Korey Edwards and Sean Ward qualified. Jones clocked a 14:22.89 in the 5,000 meter race, besting the IC4A standard by over 22 seconds. He placed 12th in a field of 73 runners and was less than 10 seconds off of the NCAA provisional standard of 14:13.80.
Edwards finished 10th overall and was the fifth collegian finisher in the 3,000 meter race. He qualified for IC4A's with a time of 8:15.92, inching toward the NCAA provisional mark of 8:07.70.
Also qualifying at BU was Ward, who ran a 4:13.87 in the mile to finish 23rd out of 116 runners. Trevon Rainford also competed in the mile, clocking a 4:18.61 for 41st.
The rest of the men's squad competed at Navy and picked up four more qualifiers, including Tom Pannulla, Dave Laratta and Terence McPeak along with the distance medley relay squad.
Pannulla ran a 14:38.23 in the 5K at Navy to hit the IC4A standard, and finished fifth out of 11 strong runners. In Pannulla's race included three runners who broke the course record and eight IC4A qualifiers.
Laratta and McPeak both hit the standard in the 800 meter run. Laratta clocked a 1:53.45 for fourth place and McPeak ran a 1:54.75 for seventh place in the 16-runner event. Also in the race were Wayne Bartholomew (1:59.34) and Nick Iuele (2:00.72).
Rounding out the qualifiers was the distance medley relay squad, which combined for a time of 10:19.32. The squad finished third out of five, which included a Navy squad that set a new fieldhouse record of 9:56.81.
Several other Explorers also ran strong races on Saturday, barely missing the IC4A standards in their events. Dave Hausherr clocked an 8:29.17 in the 3K, just two seconds off. Mike Bowden and Ray Coles also competed in the 3K, running 8:34.77 and 8:43.70, respectively.
Andrew Maxwell won the 400 meter race with a time of 50.04 seconds, just eight-tenths of a second off the standard.
Rashad Little and Jerome Brown led the Explorer sprinters in the 60 meter dash, as both qualified for the finals of the event. Little earned a berth in the final via a second place finish in the prelim, with a time of 7.28 seconds. He bested that in the final to run a 7.13 for fourth. Brown clocked a 7.33 for eighth in the preliminary, and a 7.23 for fifth in the final.
On the women's side, Samantha Gallagher and Stephanie Bearish led the way with ECAC qualifications in the 3,000 meter race at BU. Gallagher clocked a 9:55.57 to come in under the standard of 9:58.94, and finished 21st out of 67 runners. Bearish ran a 9:56.15 to place 25th. The fast race saw its top 26 runners hit the qualifying time, and top seven collegians earn NCAA provisional marks.
The distance medley relay squad also qualified with an event-winning time of 11:59.80.
Other strong performances include Kellilyn Fierras' 1,000 meter time of 2:56.33, just one-tenth of a second off the ECAC time. She finished sixth out of 25 runners. Also in the race were Maureen Benner (9th; 3:02.73) and Elizabeth Walker (15th; 3:07.95).
Wendy Hutchinson turned in a 2:16.75 in the 800 meter run, missing ECAC's by just two seconds. She finished 14th out of 77 runners. Rookie Meghan Lutz ran a 17:35.72 in the 5K to finish 12th out of 44 and miss the ECAC time by just two seconds. Caroline Grant also competed in the 5K and clocked an 18:28.70 for 26th.
Jalessa Graham led the sprinters as she qualified for the finals of the 55 meter dash. Her preliminary time of 7.52 placed her 11th, good to advance. She matched her time in the final round, finishing 12th. Graham also finished in the top quarter of the 200 meter dash with a time of 26.02 seconds for 18th out of 79 runners.
The Explorers return to the track next Friday (2/5) when they again split time between two meets. Part of the team will compete in the Geigengack Invitational at Yale University, while others will run at the New Balance Invitational at the Armory in New York City.
