Syracuse University
ECAC/IC4A Outdoor Championships
ECAC/IC4A Preview: Distance
5/13/2010 2:18:50 PM | Track and Field
PRINCETON, N.J. – The Syracuse track & field team will resume its championship season when it travels to the ECAC/IC4A Outdoor Championship beginning Friday, May 14 through Sunday, May 16. Thirty four student-athletes will compete in 15 different events throughout the three-day competition, which is hosted by Princeton University at the Weaver Outdoor Track & Field Stadium. The competition begins at 1 p.m. on Friday with the decathlon events.
The Orange last contended at the BIG EAST Outdoor Championship, where the men earned their best mark since 2007 with a seventh-place finish, while the women finished eighth for a four-spot improvement from last year. The women were led by two-time defending BIG EAST heptathlon champion in senior Uhunoma Osazuwa, who earned an NCAA Automatic-qualifying score of 5,549. For the men, junior Jarret Eaton and graduate student Michael LeBlanc teamed up with graduate student Antoine Clark and freshman Darryl White to win the 400m relays before Eaton went on to win the 110m hurdles in an NCAA Regional-qualifying time of 13.85. LeBlanc followed suit in his respective event, taking the crown in the 100m dash (10.47) for the second year in a row.
Last year, Syracuse had two individual champions in graduated senior Kyle Heath and Osazuwa. Heath captured his second consecutive IC4A crown in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, while Osazuwa earned her second consecutive heptathlon title.
Distance
A majority of Orange will compete in the distance portion of the competition, as 12 men and 12 women will look to score big points for SU. Eight harriers will compete in the 5,000-meter run, lead by senior Dan Busby, who holds the fastest time among the men with 13:57.65. Sophomore Tito Medrano, who last won the 10,000-meter run at the BIG EAST Championship, will make his first trip to the IC4A after qualifying at the Larry Ellis Invitational in a time of 14:03.87. Also making their first trip to the championship are sophomores Patrick Geoghegan, Corey Robinson and Steve Murdock, who will join veteran IC4A qualifiers Jeff Scull, Steven Weeks and Griff Graves.
The Orange has a young group of men in the longest race of the competition, as sophomore Roman Acosta and freshmen Robert Molke and Sean Keefe will represent Syracuse for the first time in their careers.
Senior Curtis Bixler is the lone Orange steeplechaser to hit IC4A criterion this year. He punched his ticket to the championship at the Penn Relays, where he finished in 9:07.40.
All four SU women competing in the steeplechase qualified on the very same track they will run on this weekend. Sophomore Heather Stephens, who garnered all-conference laurels with a second-place showing of 10:24.44 at the BIG EAST Outdoor Championships, will join senior Stefanie Slekis, who holds the fastest time in the group this season (10:20.68). Second-year harriers Natalie Busby and Cassie White also earned their ECAC-qualifying marks at the Larry Ellis, posting times of 10:29.41 and 10:29.87, respectively.
Senior Maegan Krifchin broke the school record in the 1,500-meter run with an NCAA Regional-qualifying time of 4:22.65 at the UNC Joe Hilton earlier this season. Sophomore Lauren Penney was right on her heels, finishing in 4:23.70 to earn her trip to the ECAC, while former school record holder Nana Sang-Bender has a season-best time of 4:29.36. Rounding out the group is junior Elizabeth McCarter, who just became eligible for ECAC competition at the Swarthmore Last Chance meet on May 10.
Junior Katie Hursey leads a group of runners in the 5,000-meter after finishing the 3,000-meter race in 9:24.81 at the BIG EAST Indoor Championships. She joins fellow juniors Catherine DeSarle and Rebekah MacKay, both of whom are seasoned ECAC veterans, as well as Kimberly Spano, who is making her championship debut.
