Women's Track: WVU Performs Well
January 29, 2011 06:31 PM | General
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – With the BIG EAST Championships just three weeks away, the West Virginia University track and field team completed action at the Penn State Nationals this evening with several conference qualifying finishes.
“This was one if the finer all-around team efforts in recent memory,” coach Sean Cleary says. “Walking out of the building after watching the 4x400 team smash their season-best time, I am excited to see this team perform so well across the board.”
In the invitational events, senior Jessica O'Connell and freshman Kaitlyn Gillespie led the team as they posted excellent finishes in the mile. O’Connell finished second with a time of 4:43.74, while Gillespie followed in third with a time of 4:46.60. Senior Kaylyn Christopher also raced well in the invitational 1,000-meter race, finishing second with a time of 2:45.56.
“Jessica O’Connell moves into the NCAA Top 10 rankings in the mile in just her debut race of the season,” Cleary says. “At the same time, All-American Kaitlyn Gillespie continues to smash her personal-best times on the track, joining O’Connell in the national rankings in that event.
“All-American Kaylyn Christopher also had a great day, running the second-best 1,000-meter time in school history, an event we take very seriously, behind NCAA Champion Kate Vermuelen.”
Sophomores Aubrey Moskal and Jordan Hamric posted conferences finishes taking first (9:55.22) and second (9:55.71), respectively, in the 3,000-meter run, while Allison Pettit raced well and finished in ninth (10:16.35).
Freshman Kaitlyn Shelar continued to shine in the pole vault, posting her third-straight top finish after clearing 3.60 meters. Lindsay Kopenhaver also competed well in the event with a third-place finish (3.45 meters), which qualifies her for the BIG EAST Championships, while Sydney Cummings finished eighth (1.70 meters) in the high jump.
Junior Stephanie Caruso and Shakiyla Cosby also competed well this weekend, as Caruso finished 14th in the mile with a time of 5:08.33, while Cosby placed 31st in the 400-meter dash (58.23).
WVU’s relay teams ended the meet today with a seventh-place finish in the 4x800-meter relay and a 16th-place finish in the 4x400-meter relay. The 4x400 team of Jordann Mitchell, Brittany Wolford, Chelsea Carrier and Cosby, finished with a season-best time of 3:49.42.
In yesterday’s competition, Carrier ran a season-best time of 8.27 in the 60-meter hurdles, while also placing fourth in the long jump (5.93 meters). Meghan Mock also competed in the long jump, finishing in ninth-place (5.81 meters).
The distance medley relay team of Keri Bland, Sarah Martinelli, Hallie Portner and Mitchell completed action with a second-place finish with a time of 11:53.14.
West Virginia will continue action with the Geneva Fast Times on Feb 4 and 5.
“This was one if the finer all-around team efforts in recent memory,” coach Sean Cleary says. “Walking out of the building after watching the 4x400 team smash their season-best time, I am excited to see this team perform so well across the board.”
In the invitational events, senior Jessica O'Connell and freshman Kaitlyn Gillespie led the team as they posted excellent finishes in the mile. O’Connell finished second with a time of 4:43.74, while Gillespie followed in third with a time of 4:46.60. Senior Kaylyn Christopher also raced well in the invitational 1,000-meter race, finishing second with a time of 2:45.56.
“Jessica O’Connell moves into the NCAA Top 10 rankings in the mile in just her debut race of the season,” Cleary says. “At the same time, All-American Kaitlyn Gillespie continues to smash her personal-best times on the track, joining O’Connell in the national rankings in that event.
“All-American Kaylyn Christopher also had a great day, running the second-best 1,000-meter time in school history, an event we take very seriously, behind NCAA Champion Kate Vermuelen.”
Sophomores Aubrey Moskal and Jordan Hamric posted conferences finishes taking first (9:55.22) and second (9:55.71), respectively, in the 3,000-meter run, while Allison Pettit raced well and finished in ninth (10:16.35).
Freshman Kaitlyn Shelar continued to shine in the pole vault, posting her third-straight top finish after clearing 3.60 meters. Lindsay Kopenhaver also competed well in the event with a third-place finish (3.45 meters), which qualifies her for the BIG EAST Championships, while Sydney Cummings finished eighth (1.70 meters) in the high jump.
Junior Stephanie Caruso and Shakiyla Cosby also competed well this weekend, as Caruso finished 14th in the mile with a time of 5:08.33, while Cosby placed 31st in the 400-meter dash (58.23).
WVU’s relay teams ended the meet today with a seventh-place finish in the 4x800-meter relay and a 16th-place finish in the 4x400-meter relay. The 4x400 team of Jordann Mitchell, Brittany Wolford, Chelsea Carrier and Cosby, finished with a season-best time of 3:49.42.
In yesterday’s competition, Carrier ran a season-best time of 8.27 in the 60-meter hurdles, while also placing fourth in the long jump (5.93 meters). Meghan Mock also competed in the long jump, finishing in ninth-place (5.81 meters).
The distance medley relay team of Keri Bland, Sarah Martinelli, Hallie Portner and Mitchell completed action with a second-place finish with a time of 11:53.14.
West Virginia will continue action with the Geneva Fast Times on Feb 4 and 5.
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