NCAA East Regional Preview
May 27, 2009 02:16 PM | General
May 27, 2009
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – A record 11 West Virginia University athletes will be competing this weekend at the NCAA East Regional Track & Field Championships in Greensboro, N.C., where North Carolina A&T is serving as the host school.
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| Clara Grandt has already qualified for nationals in the 10K.
Kirby Lee photo |
The Mountaineers already have two NCAA qualifiers in Clara Grandt and Marie-Louise Asselin in the 10K. Grandt is presently ranked third in the nation while Asselin is rated 24th. The 10K will not be run this weekend.
“We know that the 10K field will be at least 26 girls and Marie-Louise is 24th and Clara is third,” said West Virginia coach Sean Cleary.
Grandt, Asselin, Ahna Lewis and Sarah Brault will be running in a stacked 5K this weekend. Cleary said that regardless of how well Grandt performs this weekend in the 5K she will remain in the 10K race at nationals. However, Cleary will have a decision to make with Asselin should she qualify in both the 5 and 10K races.
“If they had not run this weekend it would have been a month since they last ran a race,” Cleary explained. “Everybody that gets top five at the regional meet automatically qualifies for nationals. Then what happens is they take the six through 12 spots and put them into a pool with the four regions around the country to determine the rest of the field.
“Technically, a 5K runner could finish in the top 18 this weekend and still go to nationals.”
Cleary believes Lewis, a sophomore from Morgantown, and Brault, a freshman from Canada, could also challenge in the 5K.
“Last year it took 16:34 to make nationals and Ahna has run 16:33 and Sarah has run 16:41,” Cleary said. “I think the girls can run in the qualifying spots because they are right on that line.”
Cleary said sophomore Chelsea Carrier is near an NCAA qualifying mark in the 100-meter hurdles with a top time of 13.30. She comes into this weekend’s race ranked 10th in the region and 21st nationally.
“She’s running her best at the end of the season,” Cleary said. “She has a good shot (of qualifying).”
The Mountaineers will have two competitors in the 1,500 in freshman Jessica O'Connell and junior Karly Hamric. Hamric is ranked 53rd in the country with a top time of 4:22.89 while O’Connell is ranked 97th with a 4:25.86 clocking.
“Karly is running so well right now that I think she has a chance to upset some girls. In the same event, Jessica is coming off an illness earlier this year and she is quickly gaining ground also.”
Pole vaulter Alex Aker is ranked 32nd in the region with a season-best mark of 3.85 meters, but Cleary said she has already reached the NCAA qualifying height in practice.
“She’s done things in practice that tell us that she could qualify for nationals,” Cleary said. “What we’ve got to do is transfer that from practice to competition.”
Cleary said Acker’s target height is four meters this weekend.
Additionally, April Rotilio will run the 400 meter race, Alison Spiker will compete in the steeplechase and Natasha Redman will participate in the high jump.
“Alison is the only senior in the group and she is coming off a great race at ECACs where she scored for the first time ever there,” Cleary said. “We’re looking for Alison to be at the front of her section this weekend.”
Redman is ranked 14th in the region in the high jump while Rotilio is ranked 16th in the 400.
“Our objective with April this weekend is for her to go out and run 53 and just see where that falls,” Cleary said. “If she can do that we will be very happy with her.
“With Natasha, we want her to hit the regional mark and maybe go one bar higher,” Cleary said.
Competition at Irwin Belk Stadium begins Friday morning and continues through Saturday.
