April 3, 2010
PHILADELPHIA - Four Explorers ran IC4A/ECAC qualifying times at the Sam Howell Invitational at Princeton University on Friday night, including Nick Crits, Dave Hausherr, Sean Ward and Caitlin Storbeck, and Dave Laratta and Terence McPeak added qualifiers at the Penn Invitational on Saturday.
Storbeck led the Explorer women with a fifth place overall finish out of 33 runners in the 1,500 meter race with an ECAC time of 4:30.20.
Hausherr and Ward added a pair of qualifications in the 10-kilometer run while both finished in the top 10. Hausherr clocked a 30:40.49 to finish sixth out of 22 runners and Ward posted a 30:53.51 to cross the finish line eighth.
Crits qualified in the 1,500 meters by running a 3:48.41 and capturing third place out of 28 competitors.
At Franklin Field, Laratta led a group of 800 meter runners. He finished third out of 40 with a time of 1:50.89 to qualify for IC4A. Terence McPeak was just behind in fourth place with a 1:51.61 to also qualify. Also in the race were Wayne Bartholomew (9th; 1:54.00) and Paul Reilly (14th; 1:55.95).
Rounding out the Sam Howell Invite participants, Tom Pannulla, Mike Bowden and Meghan Lutz all ran the 5K. Pannulla clocked a 14:52.25 to finish 20th out of 46 and Bowden ran a 15:12.28 for 33rd. Lutz paced the Explorer women with a 17:27.66 for eighth place out of 30.
Over at Franklin Field on Saturday, Colleen Boland and Caroline Grant contributed a pair of top five finishes in the 5K race as Boland clocked 17:56.45 for second place out of 28 and Grant ran an 18:16.16 for fifth place.
Jalessa Graham also ran strong to lead the Explorer sprinters at Penn. She finished in fifth place in both the 100- and 200- meter races. She ran a 12.48 in the 100-meters to finish fifth out of 31 and her finish in the 200 came on a time of 25.36 in a field of 50 runners.
Elizabeth Walker added a top 10 finish in the 1,500 meters, running a 4:47.60, and Lolita Thomas finished in the top 10 of the 400 meter race with a 59.01 seventh place time.
Three Explorers placed in the top 10 in the 800 meters as Kellilyn Fierras posted a 2:14.65 for fourth out of 40, Maureen Benner ran a 2:15.74 for sixth and Wendy Hutchinson followed up with a 2:15.89 for seventh.
A pair of steeplechase runners also competed on Saturday as Kasey Gellar ran his first of the season and clocked a 9:49.93 for second place out of nine runners. Kevin Buell also ran, posting a 9:56.18 for fourth place.
The Explorers return to action on Saturday, April 10, when they head to Ewing, NJ, for the TCNJ Invitational.
