TRACK Heath Leads GU at Duke Hoyas Race to NCAA and Big East Qualifying Times By Scott Homa Hoya Staff Writer

Following four NCAA qualifying performances at the Stanford Invitational last week, the men’s and women’s track and field teams headed to Durham, N.C. last Friday and Saturday to compete in the Duke Invitational. Although the conditions were less than ideal, the Hoyas continued to pick up postseason qualifications and set personal records.

“We definitely weren’t expecting the weather,” Associate Head Coach Andrew Valmon said. “It was much colder than expected and we had to make some adjustments.”

The cold didn’t seem to faze senior Tyrona Heath, as she timed 2:05.63 in the 800m run to claim Georgetown’s lone NCAA qualification of the meet. Graduate student Heather Blackard (2:07.72), junior Jill Laurendeau (2:07.73) and sophomores Treniere Clement (2:08.90) and Kori Hamilton (2:10.72) all followed with Big East qualifying times.

“Tyrona is just on fire,” Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Ron Helmer said. “I was happy with all those girls in the 800m, but Tyrona was big-time.”

Junior Erin Sicher and sophomore Colleen Kelly both set personal records in the 3,000m run, with Sicher timing 9:36.60 for fifth and Kelly recording 9:40.73 for seventh.

Sophomore Amanda Pape set another personal record, timing 4:36.51 in the 1,500m run. Along with Pape, graduate student Emily Enstice (4:33.49), junior Allison Snyder (4:33.70) and Kelly (4:37.91) all earned Big East qualifications in the event.

“Amanda is starting to reap the benefits of a whole lot of hard work,” Helmer said. “That’s not her primary event, but it should help to set her up for later in the season.”

Junior Jamillah Bowman and freshman Erica Derrickson picked up more Big East qualifications, with Bowman recording 56.47 in the 400m dash and Derrickson clearing 3.35m in the pole vault.

The 4 x 400m and 4 x 100m relay teams both met Big East qualifying marks, with the 4 x 400m team recording 3:43.44 for third place and the 4 x 100m team crossing the line in 48.24 for 18th.

The men’s team enjoyed similar success, led by a trio of victories by graduate student Josh Rollins, sophomore Jesse O’Connell and junior Ezra Richards.

Rollins won the triple jump with a mark of 14.99m, O’Connell timed 1:50.01 in the 800m and Richards notched 47.97 in the developmental 400m.

“Ezra ran great in the 400m,” Valmon said. “47.9 is a big PR for him, so his season is well on its way.”

Junior James Graham earned a second place finish in the 400m hurdles, crossing the line in a Big East qualifying time of 51.27.

“The fastest James ran all of last year was 51.20, so to run 51.27 in the cold is a great opener,” Valmon said.

Other strong performances came from senior David Rodriguez (14:20.95) in the 5,000m, senior Corey Smith (3:48.26) and juniors Dylan Welsh (3:51.02) and George O’Loughlin (3:51.81) in the 1,500m run, senior Davin Williams (7.26m) in the long jump and junior Robert Wingate-Robinson (22.04) in the 200m dash.

The 4 x 400m relay team also posted an impressive mark, timing 3:09.91 for runner-up honors.

“It was a good starting point,” Valmon said. “We had a lot of people qualify for Big East, but now with the Penn Relays two weeks away and Big East a week later, the expectations are starting to change.”

This weekend the teams will divide up and compete in both the Virginia Invitational and the Sea Ray Relays in Tennessee. The top-ranked teams on both the men’s and women’s sides, Tennessee and South Carolina, are slated to compete alongside the Hoyas at the Sea Ray Relays.

“Tennessee will be good competition by themselves,” Valmon said. “The mentality is a little different entering a meet like this, and hopefully we’ll be able to utilize it as a springboard to qualify. It’s a crucial week. We’re at a point where we need to start getting things done.”