Men's and Women's Outdoor Track & Field Submit Final NCAA Qualifiers at Gregory

RESULTS

Naperville, Ill., May 20, 2011 — The Washington University men’s and women’s outdoor track and field teams each posted a number of impressive performances as they made one last gasp at qualifying student-athletes for NCAA competition at the North Central College Gregory Invitational on Thursday-Friday, May 19-20, in Naperville, Ill.

Friday evening marked the final time student-athletes could post a qualifying mark for the 2011 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships, and the Bears made the most of that opportunity, submitting seven NCAA qualifying times while breaking two school records.

Junior Liz Phillips won the 800-meter run during Friday’s session with an NCAA provisional qualifying mark of 2:11.09, which ranks sixth in Division III and came in 0.02 seconds under the old school record of 2:11.11, which Molly Schlamb set just last season.

The other school-record breaking time came in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, where freshman Sarah Fisher posted a second-place time of 10:47.43, knocking more than three second’s off Abbey Hartmann’s school record set back in 2008. Fisher’s provisional time in the 3,000-steeple currently ranks 12th in Division III, putting her in strong position to be selected for the NCAA field.

Freshman Shannon Howell won the women’s 400-meter hurdles with an NCAA provisional mark of 1:02.14, drastically increasing her chances of qualifying for the NCAA meet. Prior to Friday’s competition her personal best in the 400-hurdles was 1:02.96, ranking 27th in the country; she jumped 14 spots to 13th with Friday’s time.

Junior Dan Davis had already automatically qualified for the NCAA Championships in the 110-hurdles, but posted another automatic mark of 14.28 at the Gregory, which makes him the second seed heading into next week’s meet. Classmate Tyler Jackson also posted a new season-best finishing second in the 110-hurldes with an NCAA provisional mark of 14.42. His time was just 0.01 off the 2011 automatic time, but still ranks fifth in Division III.

Juniors Michael Burnstein and Erica Jackey submitted NCAA provisional times at the Gregory Invitational. Burnstein placed third in the 5,000-meter on Friday night with a time of 14:36.35, which stands at 20th in Division III, while Jackey was seventh in the 800-meter, eclipsing provisional standards with a mark of 2:14.03.

The field for the 2011 NCAA Division III Championships will be announced on Sunday, May 22, at www.ncaa.com. This year’s national championship meet will be hosted Thursday-Saturday, May 26-28, on the campus of Ohio Wesleyan University in Delaware, Ohio.