NCAA Preview
March 13, 2003 01:44 PM | General
March 13, 2003
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- In the 12 seasons that head coach Jeff Huntoon has been a member of the Mountaineer track staff, a WVU athlete has competed in every NCAA indoor track and field meet.
The longstanding success of the Mountaineer track program continues this season as five Mountaineers have qualified to compete at the NCAA indoor track and field championships, in Fayetteville, Ark.
“I am excited to continue the tradition of sending our student-athletes to the NCAA indoor meet,” says Huntoon. “I am very pleased to be taking these five, quality, hard-working kids to Fayetteville. It’s a great way to cap a successful indoor season.”
This year’s meet is being held at the Randal Tyson Track Center on the campus of Arkansas. The complex, which opened in 2000, also held last year’s meet and is scheduled to be the host venue through 2005.
With a total of 540 male and female athletes competing in the meet, preliminary competition will begin Friday, March 14, at noon. The finals are set to start on Saturday, March 15, at 2 p.m.
WVU athletes competing are junior Megan Metcalfe, sophomore Jennifer Davis, sophomore Jennifer Kemp, sophomore Pam Richardson and senior Ailene Smith. Excluding Metcalfe, none of the runners have previously competed at the meet.
Metcalfe, an All-American in both cross country and track, is the lone Mountaineer to qualify for the meet in individual competition. The Edmonton, Alberta, native will compete in the 3,000-meter run and holds the No. 13 seed going into the race. Metcalfe automatically qualified with a time of 9:17.53. She automatically qualified for the mile as well, but has chosen not to compete so she can concentrate on the 3,000.
The veteran brings impressive credentials as well as talent and experience to the race, to run on Saturday. At last year’s NCAA meet, Metcalfe placed third with a time of 9:09.95, giving her All-American status. She is the two-time BIG EAST champion in the event (2002-03), holds the conference record (9:15.25), and was named the BIG EAST’s most outstanding female track athlete. In 2002, she won the ECAC 3,000-meter title.
“I think Megan has as good of a shot as anyone in the 3,000,” says Huntoon. “If she could equal or improve on her third place finish of last season that would be outstanding. I do know this: we haven’t seen Megan’s best 3,000 time yet.”
Her competition is going to be tough, to say the least. The talent pool in this race has been deemed by WVU assistant coach Sean Cleary as, “the deepest in the whole NCAA.” Leading the pack is No.1 seed Shalane Flanagan from North Carolina, who has the country’s top time of 9:00.22.
“This year’s 3,000 is going to be one of the most competitive races that the NCAA meet has seen in a while,” says Cleary. “All of the top six runners from last year’s meet are returning.”
The BIG EAST is well-represented in the race. Of the 17 girls competing in the race, five hail from the conference. Metcalfe is being joined by freshman Molly Huddle of Notre Dame, senior Julie Culley of Rutgers, senior Julie Spolidoro of Boston College and sophomore Mary Cullen of Providence.
“It’s going to be a very competitive field, about five girls have a legitimate chance to win it, and I think I am one of them,” says Metcalfe of the race. “I’m just going to go out there and give it my best shot. I’ve worked hard for months, so now all there is to do is to go out and have fun. I love racing, and making it this far (into the season) is when it is fun.”
Joining Metcalfe in Fayetteville is the women’s distance medley relay (DMR). Jennifer Kemp will run the 1,200-meters, Ailene Kemp will run the 800-meters, Pam Richardson will run the 400-meters and Metcalfe will run the anchor leg, which is the mile.
The relay automatically qualified with a time of 11:18.52. Going into the meet, WVU is seeded No.14. The top seed is Stanford, with a time of 11:05.16.
“It’s going to be a big fight to the top, the level of competition is very high, but I think we have a great chance of finishing as All-Americans,” says Metcalfe.
West Virginia finished third at the BIG EAST meet this year, behind Notre Dame and Villanova. Joining the Mountaineers from the conference will be squads from Villanova, Georgetown and Providence.
Jennifer Davis was chosen as the relay alternate. The Romney, W.Va., native is believed to be only the second West Virginia native to attend the indoor national meet as a Mountaineers. The first was current junior Ciara Chic, of Charleston, W.Va., who ran the 400-meter leg of the relay on last year’s DMR.
“I would like to see Jennifer have the same luck as Ciara -- to leave the meet this weekend as an All-American,” says Huntoon.
Last season, the DMR finished 12th with a time of 11:59.22. The relay was composed of Metcalfe, Smith, Chic and Merissa Sexsmith.
This season marks the fifth consecutive year that the Mountaineers have sent a women’s DMR to the national meet. The history of WVU’s DMR success is known throughout the BIG EAST and national arena.
“When I got here as a freshman, everyone was talking about the DMR, and it’s such a great personal accomplishment to have earned a spot on the relay,” says Richardson. “At first, I wasn’t really nervous (about running at the NCAA meet), but the coaches reminded me that I am going to be out there with the 14 best 400 runners in the country. I think if we do our best that we have a great chance to be in the top eight and achieve All-American status.”
With a relay composed of three underclassmen, this race will offer a glimpse of what’s to come in the next few years.
“It’s a very young group that we are taking on the relay,” says Huntoon. “We are hoping for the best and it’s nice for the girls to go out there and get some experience. This is only a preview of what’s to come from the DMR.”
Huntoon is excited to be taking these athletes to the meet, but quickly points out that attending the national meet isn’t something that he is surprised about.
“This meet fits into our program’s goals. At the beginning of the season, my staff and I start with this meet and work backwards. It’s (attending NCAA meet) something that we expect.”
