Track heads to NYC

By Anthony Medoro
Collegian Staff
February 13, 2008

The Explorer track team was in New York City over the weekend where they competed in the New Balance Collegiate Invitational, held at The Armory. Senior runners Rachel Papin and Sean Quigley led the way for the Blue and Gold, demonstrating why they are considered top runners in the nation.

Papin started the success for the Explorers when she captured first place in the 5,000-meter run in 16:39.76 on the first day of the event, which occurred on Friday.

“It was the first time she got to compete there in a couple of years, so it was a great win for her,” head coach Charles Torpey said.

Then on the men’s side, junior Korey Edwards was able to secure third place in the 800-meter run, finishing in 1:53.59. Sophomore Trevon Rainford also recorded a 13th-place finish in the 1,000-meter run in 2:28.37.

Senior Christa Plummer was able to grab 10th place in the 3,000-meter run in 9:56.19, and sophomore Courtney McKnight sprinted to 18th place in the 500-meter dash with a time of 1:17.99 for the Explorer ladies.

Senior Joe Dare qualified for the IC4A’s when he finished 19th in the 3,000-meter run in 8:29.06. Junior Jared Davis took 18th in the 500-meter dash, clocking in at 1:05.74.

“There were some big-time schools there this weekend, so we were pleased with our performance,” Torpey said.

Day two of the New York City meet belonged to Quigley, who hustled to his personal best performance in the mile, with a time of 4:01.35. This was good enough to secure third place in the championship heat.

“It was a very competitive race,” Torpey said. “Sean’s more of a distance guy, but he has still distinguished himself as one of the top 10 runners in the country.”

Quigley’s time makes him a provisional qualifier for the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships.

Senior Carolyn Lipovsky also placed third in the mile run in the college section in 4:58.59, and junior David Alfano finished second in his heat and fifth overall in 4:14.53 in the college section of the mile.

In other action, the men’s 4x800 meter relay team placed second in its heat at 7:38.99. The Explorers were paced by a pair of 1:52 splits from Rainford and Edwards. Completing the team were seniors Joe Fedorowicz and Bill Ceriello.

The men’s 4x400 meter relay team also captured a second-place finish in the Pennsylvania heat, with a season-best time of 3:18.07. Team members included Jared Davis, senior James Tchabo, junior Steve Rendall and sophomore Andrew Maxwell, who performed well as the anchor leg.

“It was good to see the relay teams have that much success at the meet,” Torpey said.

The Explorers will head up to the University of Rhode Island this weekend to compete in the Atlantic 10 Championships on Saturday.

medoroa1@lasalle.edu