NCAA East Regionals
May 23, 2005 03:39 PM | General
May 23, 2005
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Seven West Virginia University track and field performers will try to extend their seasons this weekend at the NCAA East Regional Track and Field Championships at Ichan Stadium in Randall’s Island, N.Y.
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| Davis twins Jennifer and Susan are two of seven WVU athletes qualified for this weekend's NCAA East Regional Track and Field Championships to take place at Icahn Stadium in Randall's Island, N.Y.
All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks |
The two-day event begins on Friday, May 27 and concludes on Saturday, May 28.
“This facility has hosted a lot of great championships including the Goodwill Games,” said West Virginia University coach Jeff Huntoon. “It has hosted a couple of meets this year and has been really fast.”
Senior Jennifer Kemp is coming off an ECAC title in the 800 two weeks ago and is the third-ranked performer in that event heading into this weekend behind only the North Carolina duo of Danielle Rodgers and Georgia Koss. Rodgers has the top qualifying time of 2:05.49 while Kemp is just a shade off that at 2:06.20.
“She’s had a nice progression over the last couple of weeks,” said Huntoon. “She’s gained a lot of confidence and winning at ECACs was huge for her. Now she can either sit back and kick or she can go out and lead it from the front.”
The 800 preliminary run is scheduled for 6 pm Friday evening and the finals will take place at 5:45 on Saturday.
The Mountaineers will be well represented in the 5,000 with three athletes qualified. Senior Jennifer Davis ran a season-best time of 16:26.22 at the Stanford Invitational and is seeded fifth, followed by senior Megan Metcalfe at eighth with a time of 16:31.20. Senior Tara Struyk enters the race with the 28th fastest time at 16:50.64.
“Tara has been a great progress story throughout the outdoor season,” said Huntoon. “Since she’s got her sixth year she’s been able to go from the 17s down to the 16s and she knows what it takes to get into the top eight.”
The three will be chasing race favorite Julia Lucas of North Carolina State. She owns a top time of 15:53.47. The 5,000 final is scheduled for Friday night at 7:30 pm. A total of 36 performers are scheduled to run in the event.
“They’ve got to get position early and see how things pan out,” said Huntoon. “There will be a couple of runners that will try and take it early and maybe try and run away. If that happens then we’ve got a couple that can hang on for the ride. If they go slow then it’s going to lead to a kick at the end which I don’t think anybody really wants. But once again if that happens we’re in good shape.”
Jennifer and her sister Susan Davis have both qualified in the 3,000 steeplechase. Jennifer’s season-best time of 10:28.45 ranks her 11th while Susan’s top time of 10:38.92 is ranked 20th. Two sections will run on Saturday beginning at 6:30 pm with the top eight times from both races comprising the finishers.
“There could be a seven-to-10 second improvement from both of them. If something like that happens then who knows?” said Huntoon.
Sophomore Jessica Czaikowski used a strong performance in the 100-meter hurdles last year to qualify for nationals and comes into this year’s race seeded seven spots higher at 15th with a time of 13.65. The prelims for the 100-meter hurdles are scheduled for Friday afternoon at 4:30 pm with the finals taking place on Saturday at 5 pm.
“She knows what it’s going to take: you’ve got to get into the finals to make it happen,” Huntoon said.
Junior Nancy Regalbuto was a late qualifier in the high jump with a leap of 1.75 meters. That mark ties her with several other competitors for 14th-best among the field. The high jump finals are schedule to begin at noon on Saturday.
“She has been a nice surprise for us this year,” said Huntoon, who believes 1.79 meters could be the magic height to qualify for nationals. “She jumped really well indoors and then kind of faded at the end and had a tough beginning in the outdoor season. She has made a great adjustment the past couple of weeks and to go that height (1.75 meters) two weeks in a row is outstanding for her.”
The top five finishers in each event automatically qualify for nationals with the next three going into a pool of qualifiers to be determined by the national selection committee.
“I feel real good about the direction everyone is going in at the end of the year,” said Huntoon.
The West Virginia women are coming off back to back third-place finishes at Big East and ECACs.
Last year, West Virginia sent three qualifiers to nationals in Czaikowski, Kemp and Struyk.
