Feb. 19, 2011
Final Results
KINGSTON, RI - On a day littered with second and third-place finishes, the La Salle track team finished up the Atlantic 10 Championships on Saturday at Mackal Fieldhouse on the campus of the University of Rhode Island. Freshman Nick Ross was named the Most Outstanding Rookie on the men's side.
"It was disappointing because we had so many guys finish near the top but we couldn't get any higher then second or third," said head coach Charles Torpey.
In total, the Explorers tallied eight top-three finishes but could not make up any points in the overall team standings because they were unable to record any winning times.
Overall, the men stayed put in sixth place after finishing in that spot following day one while the women dropped four spots to ninth after finishing in fifth after the opening day of the meet on Friday.
"I thought we ran really well but we just couldn't get a break and get over the hump," Torpey added.
On the men's side, a pair of relays (4x800 meter, distance) each finished in second place. In the 4x800, the Explorers finished .16 seconds behind Fordham's first-place finish. The distance relay team finished less than two seconds off the pace set by UMass.
"Both of those races came down to the wire but we just couldn't finish them off," Torpey said.
Junior Terrence McPeak posted a strong time in the 800-meter race and finished less than one second behind the pace of Fordham senior Brian Schmidt.
"He ran a very good race but he made one mistake down the stretch which allowed the Fordham guy to overtake him," Torpey said.
In the men's 1k, senior Trevon Rainford and sophomore Paul Reilly each posted solid times and finished second and third, respectively.
Rainford was just .70 seconds behind the pace of another Fordham runner, Kevin Fitzgerald for first place overall.
Freshman Nick Ross had perhaps the most impressive performance of any newcomer during the meet and posted an A-10 record time in the 3k race.
Unfortunately for Ross, Richmond's Andrew Benford out-quicked him by just under one second and earned first place in the race with another A-10 record time. However, Ross was honored for his stellar race and was awarded the most outstanding rookie performance award by the Atlantic 10.
On the women's side of the 3k, junior Stephanie Bearish impressed the coaching staff with a solid time and a third-place overall finish.
"This was one of the better women's performances of the day," Torpey said. "We aren't that deep on the women's side but Stephanie ran a great race and kept us in the hunt."
In the women's 5k, junior Megan Lutz posted a solid second-place finish and was less than two seconds off the top pace set by Dayton senior Maureen Bulgrin.
"The only disappointing part of the meet was the men's mile, I expected a little more out of that," Torpey said. "But overall, it was a very physical and demanding meet and I was pleased with the performances of our squad. Now we have to refocus and get ready for the ECAC/IC4A Championships."
The ECAC/IC4A Championships will be held on March 5-6 in Boston, MA.
Men's Final Standings:
1. Rhode Island (158.5)
2. Charlotte (155.5)
3. Fordham (88)
4. Temple (87)
4. Umass (87)
6. La Salle (60)
7. St. Louis (45)
8. St. Joseph's (37)
9. Richmond (35)
10. Xavier (27)
Women's Final Standings:
1. Dayton (161)
2. Charlotte (159)
3. Rhode island (105)
4. Duquesne (66)
5. St. Louis (65)
6. Temple (61)
7. Massachusetts (40)
8. Fordham (32)
9. La Salle (29)
10. St. Joseph's (24)
11. Richmond (23)
12. Xavier (15)
2011 A-10 Track and Field Awards
Men's Coach of the Year
John Copeland, Rhode Island
Women's Coach of the Year
Adam Steinwachs, Dayton
Men's Most Outstanding Rookie Performer
Nick Ross, La Salle
Women's Most Outstanding Rookie Performer
Ciera Ginyard, Charlotte
Men's Most Outstanding Field Performer
Jacob Keeling, Rhode Island
Women's Most Outstanding Field Performers
Mallory Barnes, Dayton
Men's Most Outstanding Track Performer
Darius Law, Charlotte
Women's Most Outstanding Track Performer
Maureen Bulgrin, Dayton
The first-team All-Conference consists of the individual winners at the two-day Championship, while the All-Conference second team is made up of the second-place finishers. For complete results and statistics of the 2011 Atlantic 10 Men's & Women's Indoor Track & Field Championships log on to www.atlantic10.com.
