University of Richmond Athletics
Benford, Traynor, Lee Wrap Up USATF Championship
06/28/2011 | Women's Track & Field
June 28, 2011
EUGENE, Ore. - Andrew Benford closed his Richmond career with a 15th-place finish in the 3,000m steeplechase Thursday night at the 2011 USATF National Championship in Eugene, Ore. Junior Nicol Traynor and freshman Ryan Lee also competed in Eugene.
Benford closed the race strong and was clocked at 8:50.05 in Heat 2, but the redshirt senior missed a finals qualifying spot by just one place. His time Thursday was shy of his personal best of 8:39.71 that he set in the First Round of the NCAA Championship.
Two weeks ago Benford earned Second Team All-America honors in the event at the NCAA Championships in Des Moines, IA where he also finished 15th narrowly missing the event final by 0.11. Earlier this season he also won the Penn Relays 3K Steeplechase Championship in April and ran 13:55 for the 5,000M race at the Mt SAC Relays.
Redshirt junior Nicol Traynor wrapped up her 2011 season by placing 13th in the second of two heats in the women's 3,000m steeplechase, while freshman Ryan Lee competed in the USATF Junior National Championship 5,000m and finished 11th in Heat 2 with a time of 14:42.84.
