Big East Preview
February 19, 2010 11:18 AM | General
February 19, 2010
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - This season the West Virginia University track and field team has put together one of the top squads in program history, receiving Top 25 recognition throughout the year as a team and several top 10 individual rankings. This weekend, the Mountaineers will be able to put that talent on display as they travel to New York City to compete in the BIG EAST Championships on Feb. 20-21 at the Armory.
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| Chelsea Carrier has already qualified for nationals in the pentathlon.
All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks photo |
Coach Sean Cleary, who is in his third season at the helm of the cross country and track programs, is prepared for this weekend and knows just how tough the competition will be.
“With 16 teams the BIG EAST is pretty intense. It originally was eight or nine teams, and then it just kept expanding. The meet keeps changing,” Cleary says. “I would say that right now that 2009-10 is the most complete conference championship that we have ever had. I say that because a lot of the teams that came in did a great job in picking apart the weaknesses in the BIG EAST and making those events much stronger. It is the biggest conference in the country in terms of depth in most events.”
Leading the conference in the national polls announced by the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association this week is Villanova, ranked No. 9.
Louisville and Georgetown are also ranked nationally, coming in at No. 15 and 24, respectively. Each team brings a level of talent good enough to win the conference, giving the Mountaineers some tough competition.
“I would say the biggest competitors are similar to last season. I think that Villanova can come in and really get this thing done. They are the favorites,” Cleary admits. “Georgetown is always going to be close, as is Louisville. Add in Connecticut and those are the four absolute favorites. There are four or five teams that think they can win the meet right now, and to be totally honest, my objective is to be in a position to knock off one of them and beat the rest of the teams in the conference.”
Leading WVU is junior Chelsea Carrier. A Buckhannon, W.Va., native, Carrier is set to compete in the pentathlon, the 60-meter hurdles and the long jump.
On Feb. 5, Carrier made school history at the Sykes-Sabock Challenge hosted by Penn State, as she finished first in the pentathlon, breaking a school and meet record, as well as posting an NCAA automatic qualifying standard. She won the event with 4,136 points to break the school record previously set by All-American Pat Itanyi in 1997 (4,111) after finishing first in the 60-meter hurdles (8.45), the high jump (1.71 meters), the long jump (5.92 meters), the shot put (10.99 meters) and the 800-meter run (2:20.09).
A week later, Carrier returned to post a set of career-best performances at the Gold-Blue Meet at the WVU Shell Building, finishing first in the long jump (6.10 meters) and in the 60-meter dash (7.60).
“Chelsea Carrier is on the roll of her life right now. She is one of the premier athletes in the conference and we would like to put her in a position to be acknowledged as such,” Cleary says of Carrier. “She will be competing in the pentathlon, she is going to run the hurdles and she may compete in the long jump. Should she go in and compete in the multi and the long jump events like she has this season, she has a shot to be one of the finest athletes in the BIG EAST track and field conference. We want to give her that shot.”
Also looking to make an impact is senior April Rotilio, who is set to compete in the 400-meter dash and as a member of the distance medley relay team (DMR).
Known for its outstanding DMR teams in the past, WVU will see no drop off this season as Rotilio, senior Keri Bland, and juniors Kaylyn Christopher and Jessica O’Connell will represent this year’s team.
“I am loading the DMR team this season,” said Cleary. “We are going to run the same team we did at the New Balance Collegiate Invite and we are sacrificing some individual events to make that team happen.
“Jessica is provisionally ranked in the mile and she ran one of the school’s best races in the 1,000-meter race. For me to run that team fresh, they can’t run the 1,000, the 800 or the mile. We are sacrificing one to make the other better. I just feel it will be the best thing to do for the indoor season. We still have four weeks to go and the BIG EAST is very big. Based on injuries and illness we just need to go head on with the DMR.”
With one of the strongest distance lineups in the country, look for seniors Marie-Louise Asselin and Clara Grandt to compete in the 5,000-meter race, as two of the favorites.
“Saturday night, the 5,000 meters is another big event for us. Last season, Asselin won the NCAA Outdoor Regional 5,000 and Grandt won the BIG EAST outdoors, so it is going to be a good and solid event. We are hoping for some national qualifying times from them.”
Qualifying for the mile this season, WVU has another strong line-up in senior Jamie Cokeley, junior Stephanie Caruso, and sophomores Aubrey Moskal and Hallie Portner.
In the field events, joining Carrier in the long jump will be sophomore Meghan Mock. After narrowly missing conference qualifying standards last season, Mock returned this year to clear 5.58 meters in the first meet of the season – the WVU Holiday Classic – to get her redemption.
Senior Natasha Redman, junior Katelyn Williams and freshman Sydney Cummings are set to compete in the high jump, rounding out a solid group in the jumping events.
After taking a redshirt last season to serve a tour in Saudi Arabia for the Air National Guard, junior Terina Miller will compete as WVU’s only thrower in the women’s weight throw.
“We have three in the high jump with Katelyn, Natasha and Sydney. To be honest, all three have the ability to be in the top eight. They are all healthy and ready to go,” Cleary admits. “Also, for the first time in a little while, we have Terina Miller in the weight throw. It is just awesome for her to be here after her story. She is so young and new to event and just the experience that she will get this weekend will help her tremendously and make her work harder.”
With a lineup like the one the Mountaineers have put together this season, anything is possible as they enter this weekend with hopes of a top finish. In the largest and one of the toughest conferences in the country, look for WVU to go full speed as it works to become a nationally-elite program.
For full coverage of this weekend’s conference championships, log onto www.BIGEAST.org.
