University of Richmond
Fred Hardy Invitational
Spiders Roll at 2017 Fred Hardy Invitational
03/25/2017 | Women's Track & Field
UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. – The University of Richmond track and field team hosted the 12th annual Fred Hardy Invitational at Fred Hardy Track inside Robins Stadium this weekend and turned in a number of outstanding performances in front of the hometown crowd.
Amanda Corbosiero, as she often does for this program, set the tone for the weekend on Friday night with a brilliant effort in the 1500M run, posting a time of 4:26.35 to earn the victory. Marissa Ruskan followed in third closing in 4:29.75 and Haley Preschutti locked up fourth with a time of 4:35.69. Ave Grosenheider later took the top D1 spot the 5000M run with a time of 17:50.82.
One of the many highlights of the weekend came in the final event on Friday night when men's cross country runner, freshman Miles Clikeman ran the 20K in an attempt to break a 37-year old U.S. record. Well, he did just that. He set a new U.S. 20K Junior National Track Record by completing the race in 1:09:07.50 breaking the record of 1:13:13 previously held by Dale Green, set in 1980.
On Saturday afternoon it was more Richmond distance dominance when Corbosiero picked up her second victory of the meet, collecting a time of 2:11.30 to win the 800M run. Ruskan finished third in 2:12.26 and freshman Maria Acosta placed fourth in 2:12.26.
The 4x800M relay provided some drama as the meet began to reach its later stages. The Richmond team of Preschutti, Claire Brown, Stephanie Hughes and Acosta trailed the William & Mary team by a wide distance when Hughes handed off to Acosta for the final leg. That gap remained until the final lap when Acosta began to close on the backstretch. By the time the pair turned for home the freshman had made her move and taken the lead then held off the charging Tribe runner to pick up the victory for the Spiders in 9:14.19, less than a second ahead of the second-place runner.
Mary Allen took the track in the 200M dash and only added to her decorated career by snagging a second-place finish with a time of 25.10. Freshman Morgan Towe won her heat and finished 10th overall in the same event with a time of 25.96.
In the 3000M Shelby Cain continued her breakout season, carrying it over from the indoor track to the outdoor surface. She pulled away from the crowd early but had some company down the home stretch and wasn't able to hold on for the victory. She settled for second with a time of 9:50.84. Kylie Regan followed in fourth with a time of 10:14.23, Colleen Carney (10:21.59) and Courtney Thompson (10:26.77) rounded out the top 10 in sixth and 10th, respectively.
Closing out the 2017 Fred Hardy Invitational was the 4x400M relay team of Gabby Bowen, Morgan Towe, Marshea Robinson and Mary Allen. That squad went on to finish second among D1 teams with a time of 3:57.37.
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Players Mentioned
