High Riser
May 01, 2008 10:35 AM | General
May 1, 2008
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia University women’s track and field coach Sean Cleary is planning to do some tweaking with his lineup this weekend at the Big East Track and Field Championships being held at Villanova University.
Clara Grandt, nationally ranked in the 5,000, will only compete in the 10k this weekend. Keri Bland, ranked in both the 800 and 1,500, will only race the 1,500 while freshman Kaylyn Christopher will join sophomore Karly Hamric in the 800. Christopher is coming off her best performance of the year in the 1,500 two weeks ago placing her name in the national rankings at 78th.
“Even after Kaylyn ran that great 1,500 two weeks ago we just felt the depth in the 1,500 was so strong and we also want to mix the 800 and 1,500 both with her as a freshman in preparation for her regional championships in the 1,500,” Cleary explained.
West Virginia’s two best opportunities for Big East titles will come in the 1,500 and 10,000. Keri Bland is ranked 22nd in the nation in the 1,500 and will challenge hometown favorite Frances Koons for the 1,500 title. Koons is also the sentimental favorite having successfully overcome a cancer diagnosis last summer. Koons is ranked eighth in the nation with a time of 4:18.75.
“Nobody in that stadium is going to want Keri to win on Sunday afternoon,” Cleary said. “If there is anyone we would want to win that race other than Keri it would be Frances, but it’s going to be a great race.”
Cleary noted that Georgetown has three runners that have posted times between 4:25 and 4:26, while Marquette’s Cassie Peller is rated 53rd in the country with a time of 4:25.85.
“That 1,500 race is probably going to be the highlight of the meet,” Cleary said.
Bland is also ranked 22nd in the country in the 800 with a top time of 2:07.01 but Cleary believes the 1,500 is her strongest event.
“It’s going to be a great experience for Keri. She ran as a freshman and began to gain a tactical sense of how to run the 1,500,” he said. “I went back and forth on the 8 and the 15 and which one to put her in but I really feel for her career the 15 is best for her. We’re looking for her to qualify for the Olympic Trials this summer.”
Clara Grandt also has a shot to win what should be a very competitive 10K race. Grandt has yet to run the 10,000 this year and has already earned what Cleary believes will be an NCAA qualifying time of 16:28.57 in the 5K. Like Bland in the 1,500, Cleary believes Grandt is best suited to run the 10K this weekend.
“We’re looking for a national qualifying performance from her in the 10K,” Cleary said. “She’s got last year’s NCAA runner-up in the field this weekend (Georgetown’s Melissa Grelli) and there is a girl from Providence who is near the top of every Big East meet she has ever run.”
Freshman Katelyn Williams is coming off a fantastic performance last weekend at Penn Relays by winning the college division in the high jump with a mark of 1.77 meters. That performance is the 21st-best in the country this year and puts her in contention with three others for top honors in that event this weekend. Louisville’s Rachel Gehret is the one to beat with a season-best jump of 1.79 meters performance last weekend.
“Her last two or three weeks have been excellent,” said Cleary of Williams. “She has jumped real well and brought that into Penn Relays. That’s a big one for us and we’ve been waiting for that to happen.”
Natasha Redman has also qualified in the high jump.
Chelsea Carrier will compete in both the 100 hurdles and the heptathlon. Carrier is ranked 71st in the country in the 100 hurdles with a top time of 13.78 and Cleary expects her to crack the national rankings in the hep after this weekend.
“During indoors she had to leave the multi partway through to do the semifinals of the hurdles. At outdoors she gets to complete the entire event and then go to the hurdles later in the day,” Cleary said. “It’s a very, very tough double but being that hurdling is her expertise she should be OK with it.”
April Rotilio is qualified in the 200 and 400-meter dashes and Halimah Bashir will compete in the 400 hurdles.
“We’re expecting big things from Halimah Bashir in the 400 hurdles. That is a very good event for her,” said Cleary. “We know it’s just a matter of time before she fully gets her time down to where she could actually qualify for NCAA regionals.”
West Virginia will have three competing in the pole vault this weekend including Kristen Loughry, who finished in a six-way tie for second place. However, Cleary says freshman Alexandra Acker has posted the most consistent results this spring. Maggie Smith has also qualified in the pole vault.
“That’s a good group for us. Kristen Loughry actually tied for second last year,” Cleary said. “Maggie Smith is going as is freshman Alex Acker.”
West Virginia will also have the 4x100, 4x400 and 4x800 relays covered. Senior Alexis Noel will compete in both the long and triple jumps, while senior Alison Spiker will compete in the 3,000-meter steeplechase.
Cleary says a total of 17 athletes will be performing this weekend.
“I think every individual going has a chance to score for us,” he said.
Competition begins Friday at Jumbo Elliott Track at Villanova Stadium. The Big East Conference will be offering live video streaming of this weekend’s action through its web site BigEast.org.
Briefly:
“It’s disappointing but for most of the outdoor season she has had some stomach issues and she missed a lot of training,” Cleary said. “She’s still fine to help us but she’s not back at the level that she was last year.”
Asselin would have been one of the favorites to win the 5K this weekend.
