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Mids Head to Holy Cross for Women's Track and Field League Meet
May 3, 2012
The Navy women's outdoor track and field team (16-0) will begin competition at the 2012 Patriot League Outdoor Championship on Friday at Hart Field on the campus of Holy Cross. The two-day meet will begin on the women's side with the 10,000m run on Friday morning at 9:00 AM. Saturday's competition will begin with the 3,000m steeplechase at 11:00 AM. Head coach Carla Criste, a four-time Patriot League Coach of the Year, will have the Mids going for a second Patriot League outdoor title and a fifth overall. Navy placed second to Bucknell at the outdoor league meet in 2011 with 164 team points. Although Navy placed second at the league meet last year, the Mids made quite an impression on the rest of the league as the team won three major individual awards. Senior Jess Palacio was named the Patriot League Track-Athlete of the Meet, senior Amanda Phelps was honored as the Patriot League Field-Athlete of the Meet and then-freshman Lauren Allam was named the Patriot League Rookie of the Meet. Palacio won two individual titles, claiming the 1,500m with a then-school record time of 4:22.58 and then winning the 800m run with a Patriot League Outdoor Championship Meet record of 2:07.35. It was Palacio's third career track-athlete of the meet accolade. Phelps earned the field-athlete of the meet honor after winning both the hammer throw and the shot put. Phelps, the outdoor team captain, is a four-time Patriot League Champion. Allam won the discus with a personal record and championship meet record distance of 165-7 (50.49m). Allam won the discus event by an impressive 13 feet.
All three athletes return this weekend to defend their league titles. Palacio is seeded first in the 1,500m and seventh in the 800m. Phelps is seeded second in the hammer throw and third in the shot put and Allam is ranked first in the discus. Navy also returns a trio of competitors that placed second at the league meet last spring. Junior Brigid Byrne took second in the 10K last May and is ranked second this year in the event. Sophomore Alix Membreno took second in the javelin and is currently seeded third and junior Melanie Sluzewicz took second in the high jump and enters the weekend ranked fifth. Along with Palacio and Allam, other top-ranked Navy athletes for this weekend, based on this year's outdoor marks, include junior Kristin Smith in the high jump and sophomore Teronda Brown in the shot put. Navy has set four school records this spring, as Palacio broke her own school record in the 1,500m (4:20.87), Smith matched the high jump school record of 5-8¾ (1.75m) and Navy set new program standards in the 4x100m (47.06) and the DMR (11:46.46). The DMR will not contested at the outdoor league meet. Navy currently has four athletes on pace to qualify for the NCAA's East Regional in Jacksonville with top-48 rankings in the East region. Allam has the highest ranking at No. 22 in the discus, Palacio is 29th in the 1,500m, Smith is 37th in the high jump and Phelps is 45th in the hammer throw. Navy sent four athletes (Palacio, Phelps, Membreno, Allam) to the regional meet last spring. Navy's biggest meet of the season this spring was the Army-Navy Outdoor Star Meet. Navy defeated Army in West Point, 116-87, as the senior Class of 2012 finished their careers a perfect 8-0 against Army in track and field dual meets. Navy won 14 of 19 events against Army. The Mids are ranked No. 14 in the latest USTFCCCA Mid-Atlantic Region poll, the only team from the Patriot League currently ranked. Following the Patriot League Outdoor Championship, Navy will compete in the ECAC Championship in Princeton from May 11-13. Friday Schedule of Events Time Track Events 9:00 Women's 10,000 9:45 Men's 10,000 2:30 Women's 100m Hurdle Trial 2:45 Men's 110m Hurdle Trial 3:00 Women's 100m Trial 3:15 Men's 100m Trial 3:30 Women's 4 x 800m Relay 3:50 Men's 4 x 800m Relay 4:10 Women's 200m Trials 4:25 Men's 200m Trials |
