Final Day Headlined by Four All-American Performances
All four America East student-athletes competing
Saturday at Drake Stadium ran All-American races to conclude action at the 2012
NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships.
To begin the day in the men’s 1,500-meter run finals,
Boston University’s Rich Peters finished sixth in 3:44.66 while Binghamton’s
Erik van Ingen clocked in moments later (3:45.00) to take eighth. Both Peters
and van Ingen earn first team All-America status with their performances.
Shortly following the men’s race, Stony Brook’s Lucy Van
Dalen, a five-time All-American, added No. 6 to her already sparkling resume
finishing fourth in the women’s 1,500 final. Van Dalen completed the race in
4:14.40 to also collect first team All-America honors.
Making her outdoor championship debut, Maine’s Corey
Conner finished the day in style for America East competitors. Conner placed 16th
in the women’s 5,000-meter run final finishing in 16:51.92 completing a second
team All-American race.
Six of the eight America East representatives competing
this week in Iowa collected either first or second team All-America honors
while the remaining two received All-America honorable mention status.
Barwise Finishes Ninth in High Jump
Yet another All-American performance from an America
East student-athlete highlighted day three of the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track
and Field Championship at Drake Stadium.
Boston University’s Allison Barwise, the USTFCCCA Northeast
Region Women’s Field Athlete of the Year, finished tied for ninth in the high
jump after clearing 1.83 meters to pick up second team All-America honors. The
junior from Orange, Conn., is now a two-time All-American this year after
finishing fifth in the same event during the NCAA Indoor Championships.
Barwise moves on to the U.S. Olympic Trials thanks to
her 1.87-meter jump during the ECAC Championship back in May.
Saturday’ action features four more national champion
hopefuls, including three in the 1,500-meter finals (Men - 12:17 EST; Women –
12:28 EST).
On the women’s side, Stony Brook Brook’s Lucy Van Dalen,
a five-time All-American, enters the championship final after running the
fastest preliminary time (4:11.69) on Thursday. For the men, Binghamton’s Erik
van Ingen and Boston U.’s Rich Peters will both compete in the men’s
championship race. van Ingen won the second of two preliminary heats on
Thursday and looks to improve on last year’s sixth-place finish.
Maine’s Corey Conner, the 17th-ranked
competitor in the women’s 5,000-meter run, makes her outdoor championship debut
this afternoon. The conference champion in the same event competes at 1:19 EST
All of Saturday's action can be seen live on ESPN3.
Three Qualify for 1,500-Meter Finals
Four
America East track and field competitors turned in outstanding performances on
Thursday at the NCAA Division I Track and Field Championships in Des Moines,
Iowa.
Running
the last event of the evening, Vermont’s Morgan Powers jumped from 22nd
to 13th in the final lap of the women’s 10,000-meter run to earn
second team All-America honors. Powers finished the race with a time of
33:42.03, a personal-best, to wrap up her career as a Catamount. The senior
from Cincinnati, Ohio was an all-conference performer this year in cross
country, indoor and outdoor track and field.
In
the men’s 1,500-meter run semifinals, both Binghamton’s Erik van Ingen and
Boston University’s Rich Peters qualified for Saturday’s championship final. Competing
in heat two, van Ingen clocked in with a time 3:42.57 to win the heat. Peters
placed fourth in that same heat, finishing just 12 hundredths of second (3:42.69)
off of van Ingen’s pace.
On
the women’s side, Stony Brook’s Lucy Van Dalen posted the fastest time in the preliminary
round completing the race in 4:11.69 to win her heat and easily qualify for
Saturday’s finals. The national champion in the indoor mile, Van Dalen was just
10 hundredths of a second off her school record time of 4:11.59.
The
1,500-meter finals are scheduled to begin with the men’s race at 12:17 p.m. EST
on Saturday with the women’s race following.
Today at Drake
Stadium, Boston U.’s Allison Barwise, the USTFCCCA Northeast Region Women’s
Field Athlete of the Year, competes in the high jump looking build on a
fifth-place finish at the national indoor championships back in March. Barwise
is in action tonight beginning at 5:30 p.m. EST.
Ouellette Posts All-American Throw on Day One
Vermont’s
Nika Ouellette, the America East champion in the javelin throw, finished out
her sophomore season by earning second team All-America honors at the NCAA
Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships at Drake Stadium in Des
Moines, Iowa on Wednesday.
Ouellette
posted a throw of 47.22 meters to place 14th overall in the women’s
javelin competition. She missed out on qualifying for the final flight by just
1.16 meters.
Fellow
Catamount Kirsten Weberg competed in the semifinals of the women’s 3,000-meter
steeplechase clocking in at 10:29.92 to place ninth in her heat and 17th
overall to collect All-America honorable mention status.
Thursday’s
docket in Iowa features several America East competitors.
The
men’s and women’s 1,500-meter run semifinals are scheduled for 7:15 and 7:30
EST this evening. Boston University’s Rich Peters and Binghamton’s Erik van
Ingen will look to qualify for Saturday’s final on the men’s side while Stony
Brook’s Lucy Van Dalen aims to do the same in the women’s race.
Vermont’s
Morgan Powers will also be in action tonight competing in the women’s
10,000-meter run at 9:45 EST.
You
can watch all of the action live on ESPN3.