Track: Mountaineers Travel to ECAC Championship
March 01, 2007 10:37 AM | General
March 1, 2007
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia University’s track and field team will travel to Boston, Mass., on Saturday, Mar. 3, to compete in the indoor ECAC Championship at the Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center. The meet will conclude Sunday, Mar. 4, and will last all day, both days.
“I’m really excited for this weekend because I believe, top to bottom, each girl can score in her event,” says sixth year coach Jeff Huntoon.
The Mountaineers are coming off a successful showing at the BIG EAST Championship. Along with the team taking eighth place, junior Abbie Stechschulte won the pentathlon title with 4,016 points, the 11th best point total in the nation.
Stechschulte, already a NCAA Championship qualifier in the pentathlon, will only compete in the 60 meter hurdles this weekend.
Senior Jessica Czaikowski also performed well at BIG EAST, taking second in the 60 meter hurdles with the nation’s 27th best time (8.35) and fourth in the 60 meter dash (7.52). Czaikowski will compete in both events at this weekend’s championship with hopes to qualify for the NCAA Championship.
Fellow seniors Alexis Noel and Halimah Bashir will also be making the trip to Boston. Noel will compete in the triple jump while Bashir will run in the 400 meter dash.
Sophomore Clara Grandt, who finished seventh in the 5000 meter run at the BIG EAST Championship, will compete in the 3000 meter run at ECAC.
Two freshmen will be making their first appearance at the regional championship, competing in two events each. Kristen Loughry will participate in both the 60 meter hurdles and the pole vault while April Rotilio will run in the 60 and 200 meter dashes.
The WVU distance medley relay team also qualified to compete this weekend. The squad, composed of junior Maria Stover-Bartlett and Alison Spiker and sophomores Karly Hamric and Brittany Hohn, took sixth place at BIG EAST with a time of 11:53.84. Additionally, both Stover-Bartlett and Spiker will race in the 1 mile run.
“With over 80 schools competing at this championship, it has the feel of an indoor national meet,” says Huntoon. “This will be a nice finish to the indoor season and a good springboard for the outdoor season.”
