University of Richmond Athletics
2006 Outdoor Track & Field Outlook
04/01/2006 | Women's Track & Field
March 14, 2006
UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. - The University of Richmond track & field teams will look to utilize their talent and overcome a lack of depth in the 2006 outdoor season.
Both Lori and Steve Taylor are honest about their team's lack of depth. However, both agree that with the Atlantic 10 Outdoor Championship taking place over two days as opposed to the one-day A-10 Indoor Championship, the Spiders should be able to showcase the talent they do boast.
"We do not have a lot of depth, but that isn't as big a problem outdoors," Richmond women's head coach Lori Taylor said. "The two-day meet gives athletes the ability to double up and still perform at a high level."
Richmond's women's team finished fourth in the Atlantic 10 Indoor Championship this winter and will look to improve upon its fourth-place finish at the 2005 Atlantic 10 Outdoor Championship.
"Obviously our goal every outdoor season is to win the conference championship as a team," Lori Taylor said. "We feel extremely confident that we will compete for a spot in the top-3, but ultimately our goal is to win."
The Spiders will look to overcome their lack of depth with the help of several talented athletes that will be competing for conference championships, NCAA Regional berths and trips to the NCAA Nationals.
"We've got some quality athletes, especially in the sprints and throws," Lori Taylor said. "We want to qualify eight women to the NCAA Regional meet and then we want to get them to nationals. We would like to get four athletes to nationals and we really believe it is possible to do that."
Junior Lindsey Smith will be looking to return to the NCAA National Championships after making it the javelin last spring. Fellow junior Beth Crocus also has a goal of also reaching the NCAA National Championships in the javelin. The junior throwers, who led by Smith finished first and second at the Atlantic 10 Outdoor Championship last spring, will both be looking for All-American honors.
"We feel like based on where they are with their early-season performances, they're certainly starting out well," Lori Taylor said. "They should both have a very good year."
Crocus will look to defend her Atlantic 10 Outdoor title in the hammer and earn a berth in the NCAAs.
"Indications are that she's ready for a big year, she'll be going after the school record," Lori Taylor said.
Smith will be looking for the Atlantic 10 title in the shot put.
"She threw better than ever during indoors and she can throw right up there with anyone in the league," Lori Taylor said. "Her eyes are set on the title."
In the sprints, Richmond has a pair of freshmen in Jasmine Major and Jessica Young who shined in during the indoor season.
Major was named the Atlantic 10 Indoor Championship's Most Outstanding Rookie, while Young earned Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week honors four times during the indoor campaign.
Major's best event looks like the 100-meter hurdles, where she will be looking to get a NCAA Regional qualifying time this spring.
"She's a better hurdler outdoors because the longer distance allows her to use her speed," Lori Taylor said. "She will be a contender to win the conference title in that event."
Major also will compete in the long jump, run the 100 and 200 dashes and the 4x400 and 4x100 relays.
Young met the NCAA national provisional qualifying mark in the 400 indoors and set school records in the 60, 200 and 400 dashes. She was the conference runner-up in both the 200 and 400 dashes, beating the old meet record in both events despite finishing as the runner-up.
"Her goal is to qualify for the NCAA Championships and looking at her performance indoors we feel she is ready to that," Lori Taylor said.
Senior Amy Thesing best event is the 400 hurdles and she has her eyes set on the school record. She will also run on the 4x400 and 4x800 relays. Fellow senior Danielle Eaton was the indoor champion in the 800, and along with Thesing was on the 4x800 conference championship relay team last spring. She will also compete on the 4x400 relay team and possibly the 4x100 relay.
Senior Nicole Kurtain will run in anything from the 800 to the 5,000, but her primary focus is the 3,000 steeplechase. She will challenge the school record in the steeplechase and be looking to qualify for the NCAAs.
Sophomore Kylee Schuler will run the 1,500 up to 10,000. She was hampered by an illness at the Atlantic 10 Indoor Championships, but is back stronger than ever. Junior Amanda Russell met NCAA provisional qualifying mark in the 10,000 last spring and will run the 5,000 and 10,000 this year. She was hurt during the indoor season but she should be back healthy and ready to go.
Freshman Karen Guthrie will focus on the 1,500 and 5,000. She was injured during the cross country season, but really got rolling during the indoor season and continues to progress.
The Richmond men's squad has the same lack of depth like the women, but will be aided by the addition of some members of the 2005 Atlantic 10 Champion Richmond football team once spring practice is over in mid April.
"We still have a lack of depth, but the addition of football players once spring practice is over will help add depth," Richmond men's coach Steve Taylor said. "The program keeps making progress. We have to keep pushing the envelope and becoming better and better."
Richmond will be very solid in the distance events, led by senior John Ciccarelli, the 2004 Atlantic 10 Cross Country Champion and the 2005 indoor 3,000-meter Atlantic 10 Champion. He will look to qualify for the NCAA Regional meet in the 3,000 steeplechase and the 5,000, competing for conference titles in both events.
"His ultimate goal is to get to the NCAA Nationals in one of those events," Steve Taylor said. "He's running as well as I've seen him. With the right race, he could get those marks."
Sophomore Hunter Willis will look to score at the conference championships in both the 5,000 and 10,000. He was a scorer at the Atlantic 10 Indoor championships in the 5,000.
"Our distance events are doing well and the middle distance area is coming along," Steve Taylor said. "They're really making progress the last six weeks, getting faster and faster."
Sophomore Jonathan Molz was the conference champion in the indoor 1,000 this winter and will compete in the 1,500, 3,000 steeplechase and possible the 5,000.
"He's got a lot of grit, good speed and good form," Steve Taylor said. "He has a great combination of strength from cross country and speed from running the 1,000 indoors."
Freshman Jeff Strojny has already established himself as one of the leaders of the middle distance group along with Molz.
"The 800 is his primary distance, he's running a 1:55 and will be looking to get his time down around 1:53," Steve Taylor said.
Freshman Sean Welsh scored at the Atlantic 10 Indoor Championships in the 1,000 and will compete in the 800 and 4x800 relays outdoors.
"As the competition gets more and more intense, he seems to respond more and more," Steve Taylor said.
Junior Rusty Burrell placed third in the high jump at the Atlantic 10 Indoor Championships and he will also focus on the 400 hurdles outdoors. Sophomore Brooks York, another football player, will primarily compete in the high jump.
"He has the best vertical I've seen out of any athlete," Steve Taylor said. "He needs to refine his technique in the high jump, and that's difficult because he will only have a short time after finishing football spring practice, but with some work he could do really well at the conference championship."
Senior Ryan Mace, a member of the football team who will rejoin the track squad after spring practice, earned all-conference honors the last two years as a member of the 4x100 relay team. He could score in the 100 and 200 at the conference meet and also competes in the shot put.
"Ryan is a tremendously skilled and talented athlete," Steve Taylor said.
Sophomore Neil Slotterback will specialize in the javelin, where he scored at the conference championships last year.
Junior Ryan Cameron is another member of the football team who will help the Spiders in the shot put and discus after he returns from spring football practice in mid-April. He is expected to score points at the conference meet.
