April 22, 2010
PHILADELPHIA - Several La Salle track athletes open competition at the historic Penn Relays on Thursday, starting with the women's 4x100 heats at 1:05 PM. The Explorers will be featured in 10 events between Thursday and Saturday.
Seven Explorer relay squads will compete plus three individuals. Tyler Jones will run the Olympic Development 5K (Thurs. 4/22; 10:15 PM). This will be his first 5K of the outdoor season, after clocking a season-best indoor 5K of 14:22.89 at Boston University's Terrier Invitational. Jones is currently the 33rd-ranked 10K runner in the NCAA East Region and 71st in the nation with his 30:02.48 at the Stanford Invitational.
Stephanie Bearish will be competing in the Olympic Development 5K as well (Thurs. 4/22; 9:15 PM). Bearish clocked an ECAC qualifying time of 17:04.44 in the 5K at the Stanford Invitational.
Meghan Lutz is slated to run her first 10K of the outdoor season in the College Women's 10K Championship (Thurs. 4/22; 10:30 PM). The rookie has run the 5K this season, clocking a best 17:27.66 at the Sam Howell Invitational earlier this month.
The Explorers' well-accomplished 4x800 relay squads highlight the relay slate. Both relays are scheduled for Saturday, with the women at 1:55 PM and the men at 4:20 PM. Both have already qualified for post-season meets as the men ran a season-best and IC4A time of 7:35.24 at the Raleigh Relays and the women did the same with an ECAC time of 9:06.36 also at Raleigh. The men's 4x800 looks to expand on its success of last year's outdoor season, which saw two new school records at the IC4A Championship. They are also the two-time defending indoor Atlantic 10 champions.
The distance medley relays will also be in action for the first time this season with the women competing in the College Women's Distance Medley Championship on Thursday at 5:35 PM. The men will run in the championship on Friday at 4:00 PM. The Explorer women ran a 12:08.95 in the Penn Relays last year and the men added a 9:51.94 at last year's Relays.
The women's 4x100 will be in action, running in the heats starting at 1:05 PM on Thursday as the first Explorer entry in action. The men's 4x400 will run the Frank Wetzler race at 5:30 PM on Saturday in their first race of the season. Rounding out La Salle's entries is the women's sprint medley relay, which ran a 4:13.64 earlier this season at the Raleigh Relays.
The 2010 Penn Relays will feature athletes from more than 60 countries with more than 22,000 entrants. Usain Bolt, one of the world's most premiere runners and world record holder in the 100- and 200 meters, is a highly anticipated addition to this year's meet. For complete Penn Relays information, visit ThePennRelays.com.
For complete recaps on the Explorers in the historic Penn Relays, stay right here on GoExplorers.com.
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Explorers in the Penn Relays
Thursday, April 22 - Saturday, April 24
Franklin Field | Philadelphia, PA
Thursday, April 22
1:05 PM - Women's 4x100 Heats
5:55 PM - College Women's Distance Medley
9:15 PM - Olympic Development Women's 5K (Stephanie Bearish)
10:15 PM - Olympic Development Men's 5K (Tyler Jones)
10:30 PM - College Women's 10K Championship (Meghan Lutz)
Friday, April 23
4:00 PM - College Men's Distance Medley Championship of America
5:30 PM - College Men's 4x400 Wetzler/Pennsylvania
6:30 PM - Women's Sprint Medley Championship of America
Saturday, April 24
1:55 PM - College Women's 4x800 Championship of America
4:20 PM - College Men's 4x800 Championship of America
