March 24, 2006

Results

UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. - The University of Richmond set two school records and several personal bests on the opening day of the 2nd Annual Fred Hardy Invitational on Friday.

Senior Nicole Kurtain won the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase in a school record and Fred Hardy Track record time of 10:55.94. Junior Beth Crocus set a school record in the women's hammer, taking third with a throw of 167-feet-3.

"We had a great day with a lot of great finishes here at home," Richmond women's coach Lori Taylor said. "We had lots of personal bests and set two school records."

Richmond senior John Ciccarelli won the men's 3,000 steeplechase in 9:13.16 and sophomore Kylee Schuler won the women's 5,000 meters in 17:59.16.

On the women's side, junior Lindsey Smith took third in the shot put with a throw of 44-10 1/4 and finished fifth in the hammer with a heave of 153-3.

Richmond took the top three spots in the 5,000 meters, led by Schuler, who won the race in 17:59.16. Freshman Karen Guthrie finished second in 18:09.05, while freshman Mary Bertram was third in a personal best 18:18.66. Junior Jenna Downey was eighth in the 5,000 (18:41.14) and sophomore Kate Merrill was ninth (18:42.88).

"It was nice to sweep the 5,000 like that, we ran really well there," Taylor said. "Kylee ran a very comfortable race, she led right from the gun. That was Karen Gutrie's first 5K, she ran a very smart race."

Senior Amy Thesing finished third in the 400 hurdles in a time of 1:04.88 and sophomore Shelby Faircloth took fifth in the 3,000 steeplechase in 12:14.27.

On the men's side, sophomore Jonathan Molz placed third in the 3,000 steeplechase behind the victorious Ciccarelli, running a personal best time of 9:34.95.

"This was a fantastic night for us, almost across the board we had personal bests," Richmond men's coach Steve Taylor said. "Ciccarelli just missed the NCAA Regional qualifying mark in the steeplechase and Molz had a PR."

In the 5,000, Richmond had three runners finish in the top 10, led by sophomore Hunter Willis' fifth-place finish in 15:13.71. Freshman Sean McKinney took eighth in 15:20.57 and sophomore Mike Stubbs followed in ninth in 15:23.35. Sophomore Peter Norquist took 13th in the 5,000 in 15:39.83.

"Three of the four runners in the 5K had PRs, they all ran very well," Steve Taylor said. "We're excited about what took place here tonight."

The 2nd Annual Fred Hardy Invitational concludes on Saturday beginning at 9 a.m. with the discuss at the President's Practice Fields. The triple jump begins action at Fred Hardy Track at 10 a.m. For complete meet details click here.