University of Richmond Athletics
University of Richmond
NCAA East Regional
Welsh, Traynor Kick Off NCAA East Regional Championship For Richmond
05/30/2009 | Women's Track & Field
May 29, 2009
GREENSBORO, N.C. - Nicol Traynor took 12th overall in a rain-soaked 5,000m final, while Sean Welsh was 31st in the prelims of the 1,500m as action at the NCAA Track & Field East Regional Championship began Friday on the campus of North Carolina A&T in Greensboro, N.C.
Welsh and Traynor are two of the four Spiders that qualified for spots in the NCAA Regional Championship. Junior Andrew Benford (3,000m steeplechase) and classmate Heather Roush (javelin) will compete Saturday on the event's final day.
In a driving rain that began right before the starting gun, Traynor finished 12th overall in the 5,000m in a time of 16:36.50. Although out of the regional points, the sophomore remains in the hunt for a spot in the NCAA National Championship.
The top-five finishers in the 5,000m from each of the four regions automatically advance, leaving seven at-large berths up for grabs. Those seven spots are determined by an athlete's season-best time, meaning Traynor's school-record 16:17.64 is the consideration time - a time that ranks among the NCAA's 30 fastest this season.
"Nicol ran very well tonight in the most competitive 5,000m race within any of the four NCAA Regions," said women's head coach Lori Taylor. "She was 12th among the 44 athletes that started the race and will be considered for the seven at-large bids across the nation. She ran fast with a very good opening 1,600m, and at 3,200m was still on an excellent pace. She'll recover this evening and see how she feels tomorrow before we decide on the 3,000m steeple."
Traynor's splits were: 400m (76.1); 800m (2:33.4); 1,600m (5:08.7); 3,000m (9:46.6); 3,200m (10:28.2); 3 miles (15:58.3).
Welsh got things started for the Spiders as his finished 31st in the preliminaries of the 1,500m - an event he won at the Atlantic 10 Championship, which earned him his first career NCAA Regional appearance.
His time Friday of 3:55.67 was good for eighth in his heat and was just over a second-and-a-half off his 3:54.08 from the A-10 Championship. The top two finishers from each of the four heats advanced to Saturday's final, along with the next four best times. Welsh, running what would prove to be his final appearance in a Spider uniform, missed a spot in the finals by just seven seconds.
"Sean had a great career at Richmond and a tremendous senior year," said men's head coach Steve Taylor. "Tonight he had the opportunity to compete against the best 1,500m runners in the Eastern United States and was in position to advance to finals, but couldn't close his last 300m."
Welsh's splits were: 400m (63.3); 800m (2:04.5); 1,200m (3:05.8).
"He ran well and did a tremendous job representing our program," said Taylor. "I couldn't be happier to have had the opportunity to coach him these past four years and watch his growth as a student-athlete. He has achieved the highest purpose within collegiate athletics - along with all his athletics achievements, he earned his undergraduate degree this month and plans to start graduate school at Richmond this fall."
Action begins Saturday morning with Roush competing in the women's javelin at 11 a.m. Benford is on the track in the men's steeple at approximately 7:40 p.m.
