Freshmen Lead Track at Big 12 Championship
May 17, 2015 08:46 PM | General
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| Marsielle McBeam placed ninth in Sunday's high jump.
Big12Sports.com |
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University track and field team completed the final day of competition at the 2015 Big 12 Outdoor Track & Field Championship at the Cyclone Sports Complex in Ames, Iowa, earlier tonight.
Four Mountaineer freshmen earned spots on the podium and posted top-five finishes on Sunday.
"We had a nice weekend overall. It was very pleasing to see how well our freshmen kids competed," said coach Sean Cleary. "To have five rookies garner All-Big 12 accolades and another pair of freshmen run ninth and 10th bodes well for the future."
Freshman Jillian Forsey placed third overall in the 5,000-meter run. Forsey crossed the line in 16:38.32, earning a spot on the podium at the Big 12 Indoor and Outdoor Championships this season in the 5,000 meters.
"We need our upperclassmen to keep progressing and provide more depth for the group," Cleary said. "I have faith that they will leave this meet with a great deal of desire and make the proper adjustments to be ready to come back stronger and ready to excel at this level."
In the 3,000-meter steeplechase, freshman Amy Cashin raced to a third-place finish in the conference. Cashin was the first freshman finisher, crossing the line in 10:44.30. Fellow freshman Renee Maisonneuve placed 10th in the steeple in 11:17.59.
After qualifying for the finals on Saturday afternoon, freshman Millie Paladino placed fourth in the finals of 1,500-meter run. Paladino, a Morgantown, West Virginia, native, posted a time of 4:31.22.
Freshman Shamoya McNeil recorded a career-best jump as a Mountaineer of 12.81 meters to place fourth in the triple jump. McNeil finished second in the league in the event among all freshmen.
"Shamoya, Millie, Amy and Jillian did not run and jump like freshmen," Cleary said. "They have the ability to lead this team for a very long time."
Sophomore Marsielle McBeam finished in a tie for ninth in the high jump with a season-best mark of 1.71 meters in the event. McBeam cleared 1.71 meters on her third attempt to advance, but was unable to clear the 1.76-meter mark.
Junior Savanna Plombon, sophomore Sydney Scott and freshman Maggie Drazba placed 16th, 17th, and 24th, respectively, in the 5,000 meters.
"Katie Gillespie had a wonderful win on Friday night. It's been a very long road back for Katie after having not competed at a conference track and field meet since her freshman year," Cleary said. "To come out here and win that 10k was a testament to her never quit attitude."
The Mountaineers finished ninth in the league with 32 team points.
The 2015 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field East Preliminary Championships will be held May 28-30 at Hodges Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida.
For each individual event contested at each of the Preliminary sites, the top 48 declared student-athletes will be accepted into the competition. For each relay event, the top 24 declared relay teams will be accepted into the competition. Combined events (Heptathlon and Decathlon), are not contested at the Preliminary sites.
The individual event student-athletes and relay teams accepted into Preliminary Competition will be announced and posted on NCAA.com the week prior to Preliminary Competition.
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