University of Richmond Athletics
University of Richmond
Atlantic 10 Championships
Crocus Wins Two Events; Women's Team In Third After First Day Of A-10 Championships
05/06/2007 | Women's Track & Field
May 5, 2007
Women's Results | Men's Results
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Senior Beth Crocus defender her titles in the hammer and javelin, leading the Richmond women's track & field team to a 43-point performance on the first day of the 2007 Atlantic 10 Outdoor Track & Field Championships at Charlotte's Irwin Belk Complex.The Richmond women's team is in third place with 43 points, three points behind second-place Charlotte (46). Rhode Island is in first place with 58.50 points entering Sunday's second and final day of competition.
"Rhode Island had a great day and so did Charlotte," Richmond women's coach Lori Taylor said. "We had a good day and advanced athletes to finals tomorrow. It will be a competitive meet and there is no doubt the level of itensity will have to be there for our entire team in order to make a run at the title. "
Richmond junior Hunter Willis finished second in the 10,000 meter run and the Spider men's team is in eighth place with 16 points, two points behind seventh-place Massachusetts.
Crocus threw the hammer 175-feet-4 and tossed the javelin 137-6 to win both events for the second-consecutive year. She also finished 13th in the discus with a throw of 90-10.
"Beth had a great day," Taylor said. "Our lone senior showed her leadership by winning the javelin and the hammer throws. She has had a tremendous career for our University and we are happy for her to have such a great day. She has worked hard for 4 years to put herself in this position. She will throw the shot tomorrow before turning her attention to the NCAA Championships."
Freshman Heather Roush finished second in the both the javelin (128-9) and the discus, setting a school record with a heave of 144-6.
"Heather came here and got it done today," Taylor said. "Her second place finish behind her teammate (Beth Crocus) in the javelin is tremendous since she never threw the event in high school. She proved to be a competitor when she moved into second place on her last throw in finals of the javelin. She holds our school record in the discus and was up against a good field. She kept her composure and threw well in pouring rain. Not conditions you want for that event."
Richmond's 4x800 relay team of junior Tara Markey, freshman Amy Van Alstine, junior Kylee Schuler and sophomore Poloma Krakower finished sixth in 9:15.29.
"The 4x800M relay team ran well, their 9:15.29 was a good effort," Taylor said. "Tara Markey ran great. Her 2:14.1 splits was a great opening leg for us and her fastest relay split ever. Amy Van Alstine followed on leg No. 2 with a split of 2:18.8, distance specialist Kylee Schuler ran third in 2:21.1 and Poloma Krakower anchored for us in 2:21.3. Amy and Kylee were tough and Paloma, who has been battling injury since last summer, ran a good leg in her second race of the year."
Sophomore Jasmine Major qualified for the finals of the 100-meter hurdles, running the second-fastest preliminary time at 14.64 seconds.
Freshman Jasmine Major looked her best of the season today," Taylor said. "She moved into fifth place in the long jump on her last attempt and advanced to the finals in the 100-meter hurdles by winning her heat. She also advances to finals in the 100-meter dash along with freshman Monique Hawkins. Both have come along way in the last two weeks and we need them to have another great day tomorrow for team."
Stephanie Lapp finished ninth in the hammer with a throw of 122-6 and Kristen Crawford took 11th. Sophomore Mary Bertram finished 12th in the 10,000 in 38:41.67 and junior Shelby Faircloth followed in 13th in 38:48.62. Freshman Megan Ney took 11th in the long jump with a leap of 16-5 3/4, freshman Kerry Kelly finished 13th in the preliminaries of the 100 hurdles and sophomore Marissa White was 16th in the preliminaries of the 100 dash in a time of 12.87.
On the men's side, Willis finished second in the 10,000 in 31:08.44. Willis ran splits of 4:55.9 for 1,600 meters, 9:58.5 for 3,200, 14:49.1 through three miles, 15:25.0 for 5K, 19:40.4 for 4 miles, 24:45.6 for five miles and 29:57.3 for six miles.
"Hunter ran a very good race," Richmond men's coach Steve Taylor said. "He competed from the gun, put himself in the front and refused to back off at any point. He made good racing decisions throughout and was very tough within a great field."
Richmond's 4x800 relay team of sophomore Jeff Stojny, sophomore Sean Welsh, sophomore Derek Jensen and sophomore Greg Hoffman placed fourth in 7:37.09. Strojny led off in 1:54.9, Welsh ran 1:53.3, Jensen's split was 1:54.8 and Hoffman ran the anchor leg in 1:53.4.
"The 4x800-meter relay put it together today," Steve Taylor said. "They ran fast and I couldn't be happier for them. They are all sophomores and competed as a team. They each did their part to make the team performance what it is. I couldn't single out one person and say they ran outstanding because it was the achievement of all of them."
Junior Neil Slotterback placed sixth in the javelin with a throw of 171-7. Sophomore Chris Kondorossy finished ninth in the discus with a heave of 127-11 and took 14th in the hammer at 110-0.
Junior Tim Hightower finished ninth in the preliminaries of the 100-meter dash in 11.22, narrowly missing a spot in Sunday's final. Junior Lawrence Sidbury took 15th in 12.07.
