University of Richmond Athletics
University of Richmond
Mt. SAC Relays
Benford's NCAA Regional Mark Leads Richmond Thursday At Mt. SAC Relays
04/18/2008 | Women's Track & Field
April 17, 2008
Results & Live Scoring | Photos 
LOS ANGELES, Calif. - Andrew Benford kicked off a busy weekend for the Richmond track & field team by achieving an NCAA Regional qualifying mark in the 5,000m at the illustrious Mt. SAC Relays in Los Angeles Thursday night. The sophomore's time of 14:09.01 currently ranks 24th nationally and ninth within the region. The Spiders continue Friday in L.A., with other athletes competing at Christopher Newport and Princeton this weekend.
Benford placed second in the University section of the 5,000m with a personal-best time of 14:09.01, eclipsing the NCAA Regional standard of 14:12.00 by nearly three seconds. His effort moved him to the top of the Atlantic 10 chart in the event as he became the first Spider this season to earn a berth in the NCAA Regional, to be held later this spring.
"Andrew ran great," said men's head coach Steve Taylor. "He moved up throughout the race and got into position for the win with two laps to go. It was fun to watch and I would call it a classic already. He had miles of 4:34, 4:32 and 4:30 in that order and it's exciting for him to get the NCAA Regional mark. The weather was perfect and that's the reason we fly here to compete. I've been to this meet for over 20 years and you can always count on the weather to be conducive to running fast times."
Benford, who found himself 14th after the first lap, picked up his pace and used negative splits over the remainder of the race to capture the silver medal. He hit the 3,200m-mark in 9:06.9 in fifth place and then began to challenger the leader - and eventual winner - Kiel Uhl of Iowa State. The Spider moved into the lead near the line, but was overtaken by Uhl just a few strides from the line.
"I felt really good out there," said Benford. "That was a hard race and I had nothing left at the end. My legs had nothing in them and I gave it everything I had. The pace went out slow and it picked up after that and we had a good group up front. I'm really happy, especially to get the NCAA Regional qualifier. Now I can focus on the A-10 Championships and the NCAA Regional meet."
In the women's 5,000m, freshman Nicol Traynor and sophomore Amy Van Alstine -- both coming off great races at the Duke Invitational two weeks ago - finished eighth and 24th, respectively, against a loaded field.
It was Traynor's night to shine as the freshman came up just short of the NCAA Regional standard with her time of 16:54.89. Van Alstine, suffering from calf cramps, finished in 17:34.50.
A bit of bad luck doomed Jon Molz in his 1,500m race. Another loaded field of 15 runners charged off the line and Molz found himself ninth at the 400m-mark and moved to within striking distance of an NCAA Regional mark when he crossed the 1,200m-mark at 3:04.0. But the senior became tangled in a pack and his feet were taken out from under him when a leading runner fell. Molz finished in 11th with a time of 4:03.56
"I just couldn't believe it when I saw him go down", said Taylor. "It's too, because the race was really setting up well for him and then to have this happen. It's disappointing for Jon, but he is fit and on top of his running so we'll just have to look at another race. He looked very good at the 1,200m-mark and was on 4:04-mile-pace which is the equivalent to the 3:47.0 standard."
Sophomore Matt Llano bright the opening-night to a close for the Spiders with his first 10k race since a third-place performance at last summer's USATF Junior National Championship. Last summer's race stood as personal-record until Thursday night when he cruised to the finished in 30:25.63 to finished 21st in the University Division and shatter his previous personal mark by nearly one minute.
"I thought Matt was patient out there and ran well", said Taylor. "He was running a 4:45-mile pace for the first 5k and then his pack split up a bit, which left him alone during the most important part of the race."
"This is such a great meet," said Taylor. "Our athletes ran well and continue to improve. That's why we come here. We want our alumni to see what our student-athletes are doing and we want our recruits to see how fast these young men and women are racing. Additionally, it shows that not only is the University of Richmond a great school that offers a premier education, we also have some of the best athletes in the nation. If they choose to join us, they will run fast."
Action continues Friday in Los Angeles. Stay tuned to RichmondSpiders.com for Mt. SAC video highlights next week on SpiderTV.
