Nana Sang-Bender running at the BIG EAST Cross Country Championship.
Sang-Bender and Simon Slated To Run At NCAA Regional
5/24/2006 4:30:02 PM | Track and Field
A pair of Syracuse runners will compete this weekend at the NCAA East Regional at Irwin Belk Track on the campus of North Carolina A&T. Freshman Nana Sang-Bender (Syracuse, N.Y.) and junior Katie Simon (West Seneca, N.Y.) will run in the 1500m and the 3000m steeplechase, respectively, in Greensboro on May 26-27.
In her rookie season, Sang-Bender has proven herself as one of the top female runners in the program. In the fall, she ran for the cross country team and was SU’s second-best runner. She opened her career with a pair of top-20 performances at the Binghamton Invitational and the Cowboy Jamboree. She finished the races in 19:08 and 19:10, respectively, to finish 11th and 18th. At the BIG EAST Championship, she placed 30th with a time of 22:23 and then finished 47th at the NCAA Regional with a time of 22:12.
In the indoor track season, Sang-Bender took the crown in the 3000m at the Syracuse Invitational with a time of 10:10.27 and then went on to place fourth at the ECAC Championship in the mile at 4:52.52.
Sang-Bender has competed the entire outdoor season in the 1500m and has two wins. Her first came in the Sam Howell Invitational on April 8. A week later at Carolina Fast Times, she broke the Syracuse record in the event with a time of 4:28.78. She did not stop there, however, as the last two times that she competed she topped her own record both times. At the BIG EAST Championship, she finished sixth but slightly improved her school-record time to 4:28.03. At the ECAC Championship, she shaved almost two seconds off of her time as she clocked in at 4:26.56 to finish third.
The NCAA Regional will be just the third time that Simon will compete in the 3000m steeplechase this season. Her first experience came at Carolina Fast Times on April 15 where she finished third with a time of 11:11.59. At the ECAC Championship, she improved her time by finishing sixth at 10:49.86.
Simon also ran cross country in the fall for the Orange and placed 61st in the BIG EAST Championship with a time of 23:22. She competed in the NCAA Regional as well, finishing the course in 23:12.
Simon has also run in the 3000m in her track career, earning a win in the event at the Bucknell Winter Classic last season as a sophomore. She also ran in the 3000m at the Raleigh Relays this year and finished with a time of 18:17.52 to place third.
Sang-Bender will first run in the prelims on Friday at 4:30 p.m. If she advances to the final, she will run in the finals on Saturday at 5:20 p.m. The steeplechase is scheduled for 7:40 p.m. on Saturday.
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