May 26, 2011
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UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND - The NCAA announced the participants in the 2011 Division I Outdoor Track and Field Preliminary Championship Competition, which is set to welcome 10 University of Richmond Spiders in 12 events.
• NCAA Preliminary Round information
The East Region Preliminary Championship Competitions will be held May 26-28 at Indiana University in Bloomington, Ind. The top qualifiers from that region will compete in the NCAA Championships held June 8-11 in Des Moines, Iowa.
Here's a look at Richmond's NCAA Preliminary Round qualifiers:
• Nicol Traynor will double in the 3,000m steeplechase and the 5,000m (16:10.37). She ran a career best in the steeple (10:11.20) at the A-10 Championships and at the time it ranked in the top 10 in the NCAA. That time also qualifies her for the USATF Championships and the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials. Traynor also ran 16:10.37 in the 5,000m at the 2011 Mt. SAC Relays setting her career best.
• Amy Van Alstine qualified in the 5,000m (16:09.22) and the 1,500m (4:19.38), however, she will focus on the 5k and opt out of the 1,500m. Van Alstine ran the 5,000m in 16:09.22 at the 2011 Mt. SAC Relays in Los Angeles after leading nearly the entire race. Her 1,500m time of 4:19.38 set a school record, an A-10 Championship record and UNC-Charlotte facility record. She was named the 2011 Atlantic 10 Conference Track Athlete of the Year for her effort in winning the 1,500m and 5k races in at the league championships.
• Andrew Benford run the 3,000m steeplechase and the 5,000m at the NCAA Championships East Prelim Round. Benford has career bests of 8:46.12 in the steeple (A-10 Championship) and 13:55.88 in the 5,000m (Mt. SAC Relays) this season. He was also the champion in the steeple at the prestigious Penn Relays this year.
• Matt Llano qualified in both the 10,000m and the 5,000m. Llano ran the 10,000m in 28:43.30 at Stanford's Payton Jordan Invitational and 14:00.01 in the 5,000M at the 2011 Mt. SAC Relays in Los Angeles. However, he will focus on the 10,000m, opting out of the 5,000m. Llano is a 2010 NCAA All-American in the 10k, placing ninth in the NCAA final last year.
• Jenn Ennis will race the 3,000m steeplechase. She ran 10:30.27 in the event to win the UNC Invitational two weeks ago in a career best.
• Jill Prentice will race the 5,000m. Prentice ran 16:39.79 in the 5,000m this season at the Mt. SAC Relays in Los Angeles. The freshman also ran 4:32 in the 1,500m two weeks ago, both her 5k and 1,500m marks are career bests.
• Julie Rechel will compete in the 10,000m. Rechel ran 35:14.82 in the 10k at the 2011 Penn Relays just a few days after placing second overall in the 2011 USA Triathlon Collegiate National Championship.
• Heather Roush will compete in the javelin throw. Roush recently won the Atlantic 10 Championship title, extending the streak to eight-consecutive years a Spider has won the A-10 women's javelin. Her career best came in the first meet of the season at Richmond's Fred Hardy Invitational (48.08m) to establish a new school record.
• Meaghan McGovern will compete in the hammer throw. McGovern's mark (55.85m) at the Atlantic 10 Championships is a career best for the Spider junior. McGovern won the College Division of the hammer at the 2011 Penn Relays.
• Monica Howard will compete in the discus throw. Her winning throw of 49.86m in the discus at the Atlantic 10 Championship broke her own school record.
Tim Quinn owns a qualifying time in the 5,000m (14:08.96), but suffered a season-ending injury at the Championship. Chris York missed qualifying in the 10,000m by 1.28 seconds.
Stay tuned to RichmondSpiders.com, along with head men's coach Steve Taylor's Twitter feed and Blog for complete meet coverage.
