Men's and Women's Track & Field Combine to Break Three School Records at North Central
RESULTS
Naperville, Ill., May 13, 2011 — The Washington University in St. Louis men’s and women’s outdoor track & field teams combined to break three school records and set nine NCAA Division III Outdoor Championship qualifying marks at the North Central College Dr. Keeler Invitational, held Thursday-Friday, May 12-13.
A majority of the impressive NCAA qualifying times and school records came in the distance and middle distance events. The WUSTL men’s team was responsible for breaking two of those school records, with senior Alden Black doing so in the 3,000-meter steeplechase and senior Dave Spandorfer in the 5,000-meter.
Black’s first-place 3,000-steeple time of 8:57.10 on Friday night shattered the old school record of 9:08.32, which he set just last season, and was an automatic qualifier for the NCAA Championships. He ranks second in Division III in the event through Friday night’s competition.
Spandorfer finished second in the 5,000 on Thursday, posting a record-breaking mark of 14:27.76. A provisional qualifier, he ranks 11th in Division III heading into the final two weeks of regular season competition.
Junior Liz Phillips represented the Bears’ third school-record of the meet, winning the 1,500-meter run with an NCAA automatic qualifying time of 4:28.10. Her impressive time currently ranks fourth in Division III.
The Bears’ impressive performances were not limited to school record breakers with five other student-athletes exceeding NCAA provisional or automatic standards.
Washington University sophomore David Hamm and junior Michael Burnstein finished the 10,000-meter third and fourth respectively, with Hamm crossing the finish line in 31:02.20 and Burnstein coming in just 1.67 later. Both times represented NCAA provisional qualifiers.
Senior Jessica Londeree finished fourth in the women’s 5,000-meter with a provisional mark of 17:32.89 and junior Molly Wawrzyniak placed sixth in the women’s 3,000-steeplechase with a time of 11:01.61.
Washington University’s junior hurdling duo of Dan Davis and Tyler Jackson also finished with strong performances as they prepare to compete at the NCAA Championship in two weeks. Davis won the 110-hurdles with a time of 14.40, an automatic qualifying time but shy of his season-best effort of 14.34, while Jackson came in fourth with a provisional mark of 14:84, also off his personal best.
Washington University has one more week of competition before the 2011 NCAA Division III Outdoor Championship field is announced. The Bears will return to North Central College to run in the Gregory Invitational next Thursday-Friday, May 19-20, in Naperville, Ill.