Track team competes at a variety of U.S. locations

By Mike McDonald
Collegian Editor
February 14, 2007

The Explorer track and field teams had an extremely busy day this Saturday. La Salle team members competed at four different events around the country on the same day.

We’ll start off at the furthest location from Philadelphia. Part of the team was in Seattle, Wa. for the University of Washington Husky Classic, and despite being a small school from the East Coast, La Salle really made its presence known.

Senior Sean Quigley made the most of his appearance there, running the 5,000-meter event in 13:50.14. This time is a new school record, and it is also an NCAA provisional qualifying time. He finished in eighth place out of the 81 competitors in the event.

Senior Rachel Papin also competed in the 5,000-meter run, and her performance was just as notable. Her time of 16:21.52 was a school record as well, and it was an NCAA provisional qualifying time, too. Papin’s time was good for fifth place in the competition.

Other team members were in Boulder, Co. for the USA Cross Country Championships. La Salle had two competitors in the junior competition, consisting of runners 19 years of age and younger. Freshman Trevon Rainford finished in 22nd place, and freshman Matt Mitchell grabbed 40th place in the event.

La Salle was also represented in the Lafayette/Rider Invitational at the Armory/New Balance Track and Field Complex in New York, N.Y. Here, there were three Explorers who won their respective events.

Sophomore Orestes Medina won the long jump competition with a mark of 6.99 meters. Sophomore Kimberly McIntosh finished first in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 9.19 seconds. Not to be outdone, freshman Kelly Fierras finished first in her heat in the 800-meter run.

Finally, the La Salle throwers and vaulters were at the University of Delaware Thomson Invitational. Sophomore Lisette Delgado finished in fifth place in the women’s pole vault with a mark of 3.05 meters.

A noteworthy accomplishment was made for the Explorers this weekend by senior Sean Quigley. His excellent performance in Seattle earned him some recognition from the conference. On Monday, Quigley was named Atlantic 10 Performer of the Week. This is the third time this season that he has received this honor.

Next up for the Explorer track teams is this Saturday’s event at Rhode Island for the Atlantic 10 Championships.

mcdonaldm2@lasalle.edu