University of Richmond Athletics
University of Richmond
NCAA East Preliminary Round
Van Alstine Becomes Fifth Spider To Reach NCAA National Championship
05/29/2011 | Women's Track & Field
May 29, 2011
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Senior Amy Van Alstine capped one of the most successful weekends in the history of the Richmond Track & Field program as she became the fifth Spider to clinch a spot in the NCAA National Championship with her thrilling 5,000m run Saturday night at the NCAA East Preliminary Round in Bloomington, Ind.
Van Alstine joins senior Matt Llano (10,000m), senior Andrew Benford (3,000m steeplechase), senior Nicol Traynor (3,000m steeplechase) and senior Heather Roush (javelin) who are each headed to the NCAA National Championship at Drake University that begins June 8.
Heat 1 of the women's 5,000m turned out to be one of classics of the 2011 East Preliminary Round as Van Alstine dueled with North Carolina's Kendra Shaaf. As runners in the lead pack began to fall off the pace, Van Alstine and Shaaf continued to fight for the lead.
Van Alstine grabbed the lead with 300m left, but was ultimately edged at the wire by Shaaf by .54 seconds. Van Alstine was clocked in 16:15.91.
Also Saturday, Traynor competed in the 5,000m and came just seven seconds shy of qualifying with her time of 16:33.78. Freshman Jill Prentice posted a 5,000m time of 17:01.30 and Benford was clocked in 14:34.48. Senior Monica Howard competed in the discus and posted a throw of 41.47m.
Stay tuned to RichmondSpiders.com and the blog and Twitter account of head coach Steve Taylor as the National Championship approaches for complete coverage.
