After two weeks of work, the Syracuse Orange track and field teams will head to Boston University, while Lauren Penney will head to Washington with Brianna Nerud. First, let's recap some action from the past two weeks.
Jarret Eaton competed at the Boston Indoor Games 60m hurdles, finishing a distant 2nd and runnning 7.8 to the winners 7.62 time. His 7.70 clocking remains his season best and currently has him tied for 5th in the country.
Freshmen harriers traveled to St. Louis last weekend to compete in the junior 8k national championships. Syracuse's Martin Heir won this race last year and it is a great indicator for next year's cross country season. Standout Dan Lennon clocked a 25:07.9 to finish 11th as the top Syracuse finisher, improving greatly on his Big East Championship 8k time from October. Though he didn't qualify for the world championships (must be top 7), he will most likely wear a USA singlet as an alternate for a different international race. The top female finisher was Emily Nist coming in 13th. Brianna Nerud did not compete and is focusing on the current indoor season.
I will do a quick preview for this weekend's races to afford me the time to do a recap (I'm still trying to get a good template down for this blogging stuff).
Lauren Penney and Brianna Nerud will be traveling to Washington. Penney's 4:37 mile clocking at Penn State currently leaves her 4th on the NCAA list (7th nationally) and she almost assuredly has booked her ticket to nationals in Arkansas. Saturday she will look to run a very fast 3k race. Her time will most likely be the new school record. A time around 9:10 should be a solid effort for Lauren and would likely cement a second qualifier for nationals. Brianna Nerud will be competing in a fast mile. If she gets in the fastest heat look for her to run extremely well.
The rest of the team will be competing at Boston University's banked 200m track. The distance events will be crowded and fast. Most of the distance contingent is entered in the 3000m race with some great talent. Martin Heir could potentially book a time worth of NCAA championship consideration. Most athletes will be trying to sure up their times for the Big East Championship meet, which is one short week away! Sarah Pagano will be one to watch at she runs the 3k in a fast heat with some women who will be at the ncaa championship meet. Rebecca Robinson is entered in a bunch of sprint events as she looks to prepare for a rigorous Big East Meet.p>
UPDATE: BU's Terrier Invite has been cancelled due to inclimate weather!
Look for a much more extensive recap of the weekends events, something I neglected to do previously! Look for BU results, race videos, and interviews here. Look for Washington coverage here.