May 4, 2008

Photo Gallery

VILLANOVA, Pa. - With a stellar winter and spring season already under his belt, junior Andrew Bumbalough (Brentwood, Tenn./Brentwood Academy) was again the highlight of the day as he won the men's 1500m run and anchored the first-place 4x800m relay on the final day of competition at Villanova's Jumbo Elliott Track for the 2008 BIG EAST Outdoor Track & Field Championships. For the weekend, two school records were broken (women's 3000m steeplechase, men's 110m high hurdles) and 11 student-athletes garnered All-BIG EAST honors - bestowed on those who finish in the top three of their event - with Bumbalough, senior Melissa Grelli (Cupertino, Calif./Presentation) and junior Kenny Mitchell (Atlanta, Ga./Weber) each picking up two apiece. Both the men's and women's team finished sixth overall.

Bumbalough ran a smart race to win and capture a BIG EAST crown in the men's 1500m run with an NCAA Regional time of 3:52.72. Senior Matt Debole (Winston-Salem, N.C./Mount Tabor) was the second Hoya to pick up points in the 1500m as he finished fourth when he timed in at 3:55.18. The pack stayed together through 900 meters when Bumbalough made his move on the back turn to take the lead. DeBole followed suit and was a steady second through the next 400 meters. Bumbalough easily separated from the crowd to take first place but Notre Dame's Jake Watson and Pittsburgh's Sam Bair surged through the final straightaway to take over second and third ahead of DeBole.

Bumbalough and DeBole then teamed up with sophomore Danny Harris (Deer Park, N.Y./St. John the Baptist) and senior Neil Grosscup (Minneapolis, Minn./Southwest) to win the 4x800m relay with an IC4A qualifying time of 7:27.51. Grosscup ran the leadoff leg and after the first exchange between Grosscup and DeBole, the Hoyas took over fourth place. DeBole made his move on the outside on the last straightaway of his frame to take the lead going into the third stanza with Harris running for the Blue & Gray. After the first 400 meters of the third leg, Notre Dame's Cameron Eckert pulled ahead of Harris and on the back straightaway, Villanova's Michael Kerrigan made his move to take the lead and Harris remained a steady third. Harris finished strong and with a solid handoff to Bumbalough running anchor, the race was on. Bumbalough ran a spectacular race making his move at the beginning of the final turn and breaking away for the Hoya win, running an unofficial 1:49.0 split.

Kenny Mitchell was just three-hundredths of a second off his own school record as he ran an NCAA Regional qualifying time of 10.47 in the 100 meter dash to take second place. Later in the day, Mitchell ran an additional NCAA Regional qualifying time and matched his personal best he set yesterday in the 200m trials with a time of 21.23 to take second place in the final round of the event.

In the women's 1500m run, graduate student Elizabeth Maloy (Loudonville, N.Y./Academy of Holy Names) ran a steady race through the first 700 meters. With two laps to go, Maloy moved toward the outside and the top three consisting of Villanova's Frances Koons, West Virginia's Keri Bland and Maloy separated themselves from the field with one lap to go. On the back straightaway, Khoons made her move to pull away and went on to win the race while Maloy battled for third against teammate Maggie Infeld (University Heights, Ohio/Beaumont). Maloy took third with a time of 4:22.62 while Infeld, a junior, finished fourth with a time of 4:23.11 - both are NCAA Regional qualifying marks.

Graduate student Susan Hendrick (Solomons, Md./Patuxent/Columbia) and junior Avril Ogrodnick (Beaconsfield, Quebec/Beaconsfield) also competed in the 1500m with Hendrick placing seventh (4:31.20) to garner points for the Blue and Gray and Ogrodnick finishing ninth (4:31.98) - both times are ECAC qualifying times.

Freshman Chris Kinney (Stockbridge, Ga./Stockbridge) broke his own school record in the men's 110m high hurdles that he had set previously this spring at the Larry Ellis Invitational when he timed in at 14.10 to take third place. His previous record was 14.19.

Senior Ashley Hubbard (Marshfield, Mass./Marshfield) finished second in the 800m run as she ran a steady first 400 meters to stay in third place with teammate Renee Tomlin (Ocean City, N.J./Ocean City) in fifth place. Tomlin dropped to sixth on the back straightaway while Hubbard made her move on the last turn and tried to find the outside. Hubbard took over second from DePaul's Mary Cate Quiett but could not get past Villanova's Arusha McKenzie, running on her home track. Hubbard's second-place time of 2:08.13 is an NCAA Regional qualifying time and Tomlin's sixth-place 2:11.05 is an ECAC qualifying mark.

In an all-too familiar moment on the track today - Villanova's Frances Koons stepped on her home track to compete in her last 5000m run at home with four Hoyas in the same field of competition. Earlier in the day, Koons took the women's 1500m crown and she left the track a two-time 2008 BIG EAST Champion. Melissa Grelli ran her usual steady race and made her move with six laps to go and took the lead to set the pace for the field. With one lap to go, Koons took the outside and ran a stellar final 400 meters on the Jumbo Elliott Track to take first place with a time of 16:30.13. Grelli followed up with a time of 16:36.17 - an NCAA Regional qualifying time. Junior Natasha LaBeaud (Folsom, Calif./Folsom) also competed in the event and took seventh place to score points for the Hoyas with a time of 17:19.67.

In the women's 400m dash, sophomore Abigail Johnson (Willingboro, N.J./Milton Hershey [Pa.]) ran an ECAC qualifying time of 54.69 to take sixth place and pick up another three points for Georgetown; the time is also a personal record.

Senior Daniel Nunn (San Luis Obispo, Calif./San Luis Obispo) finished fourth in the men's 5000m run with an IC4A qualifying time of 14:30.93 with junior Levi Miller (Belfast, Maine/Belfast Area) taking fifth place to garner more points for GU with his own IC4A qualifying time of 14:31.79.

Sophomore Sarah Wernik (Florence, Mass./Northampton) finished eighth in the women's 200m dash with a time of 24.63, just two-hundredths of a second off her personal record in the event. Wernik finished eighth with the ECAC qualifying time. Also picking up points for the Blue & Gray, senior Alex Baptiste (Blue Bell, Pa./Wissahickon) placed fifth in the women's triple jump with a mark of 11.89m.

To start the day's relays, the men's 4x100m relay team took the track. With an IC4A time of 42.26, the quartet of sophomore Ian Conyers (Detroit, Mich./University of Detroit Jesuit), Mitchell, freshman Sean Suber (Mitchellville, Md./DeMatha) and Kinney finished ninth overall, just shy of picking up points for the Hoyas.

Louisville led the women's field with 106 points, followed by Pittsburgh (87), Notre Dame (86), Connecticut (84), Villanova (73), Georgetown (64), Seton Hall (57), West Virginia (47.50), Syracuse (47), Cincinnati (43), South Florida (39.50), DePaul (33), Marquette (28), Providence (23), Rutgers (20) and St. John's (19).

For the men, Notre Dame led the field with 122.50 points, followed by Connecticut (105), Louisville (93), Cincinnati (80), Rutgers (78), Georgetown (76), South Florida (63), Villanova (56), Syracuse (55), Pittsburgh (45), Seton Hall (31), DePaul (23), Providence (15) and Marquette (14.50).

All-BIG EAST (Men)
Michael Banks - 3000m Steeplechase
Andrew Bumbalough - 1500m, 4x800m Relay
Matt Debole - 4x800m Relay
Neil Grosscup - 4x800m Relay
Danny Harris - 4x800m Relay
Chris Kinney - 110m High Hurdles
Kenny Mitchell - 100m, 200m

All-BIG EAST (Women)
Melissa Grelli - 5000m, 10,000m
Ashley Hubbard - 800m
Elizabeth Maloy - 1500m
Joanna Rodgers - 3000m Steeplechase