Track: Asselin and Grandt Shine In Day One
May 29, 2009 10:52 PM | General
May 29, 2009
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| Marie-Louise Aselin |
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - Marie-Louise Asselin and Clara Grandt both qualified for the NCAA Championships tonight in 5,000-meter race as the West Virginia University track and field team concluded day one of the NCAA East Regional Track and Field Championship at North Carolina A&T’s Irwin Belk Track in Greensboro, N.C.
Asselin won the race in 16:03.29 in an inclement mix of rain and wind, while Grandt placed sixth in 16:14.60. Asselin’s time is the second-best in school history; All-American Megan Metcalfe set the bar at 15:47.64 in 2005.
Asselin and Grandt have now qualified for both the 5,000-meter and the 10,000-meter events at the NCAA Championships.
The freshmen pair of Ahna Lewis and Sarah-Anne Brault finished 16th and 17th in the 5k, respectively. Lewis posted a time of 16:45.52 followed by Brault (16:49.42).
In the 1,500-meter race, Karly Hamric finished third in her heat, ninth overall, to advance to the finals with a time of 4:24.82. Teammate Jessica O’Connell crossed the line at 4:34.79 to finish 24th.
Chelsea Carrier won her heat in the 100-meter hurdle event, third overall, to advance to tomorrow’s finals. Carrier finished with a time of 13.33.
April Rotilio finished 15th in the 400-meter race (54.99), while pole vaulter Alex Acker finished 14th after clearing 3.81-meters.
“After leaving day one, this is the happiest we’ve been since the inception of the regional competition,” commented Coach Sean Cleary. “All four athletes in the 5k had a career-race with the bad weather. Chelsea (Carrier) took command of her race and Karly (Hamric) continues to impress in the 1,500-meter. We’re looking forward to tomorrow’s events and finals.”
Tomorrow will consist of the 1,500-meter and 100-meter final, as well as the 3,000-meter steeplechase and high jump events. The top five individual event place finishers from each region automatically qualify to the NCAA Championship meet.
Live results can be found at www.ncataggies.com, with a full recap on MSNsportsNET.com following the conclusion of tomorrow’s events.
