Monday, January 30, 2012

McEntee & Ward Highlight Cats at Penn State National

The big news from the weekend meet at Penn State was the NCAA automatic qualifier in the mile for sophomore Sam McEntee. McEntee broke the 4:00 barrier, running 3:57.86 in only his fourth ever competitive mile (see video of race in previous post below). He did so 6 days short of his 20th birthday, becoming Villanova's 29th sub-4:00 miler (fellow Aussie Matt Gibney was the 28th on Villanova's list when he went 3:58 in Seattle last February). Among Western Australians, only the legendary Herb Elliott (3:54.5) has run a faster mile. McEntee's time places him #25 on the all-time Australian mile list, one spot ahead of John Landy. He is currently ranked #5 on the 2012 NCAA performance list at that distance.





All-Time Mile Performance List, Australia

1. 3.48.98 Craig Mottram Oslo, Norway 29 Jul 05
2. 3.49.91 Simon Doyle Oslo, Norway 6 Jul 91
3. 3.51.25 Jeff Riseley Oslo, Norway 3 Jul 09
4. 3.51.82 Mike Hillardt Koblenz, Germany 28 Aug 85
5. 3.52.24 Ryan Gregson London, GBR 13 Aug 10
6. 3.53.24 Mark Fountain Sheffield, GBR 21 Aug 05
7. 3.53.58 Pat Scammell Melbourne 7 Feb 91
8. 3.54.30 Collis Birmingham London, GBR 25 Jul 09
9. 3.54.5 Herb Elliott Dublin, Ireland 6 Aug 58
10. 3.55.05 Jeremy Roff London, GBR 25 Jul 09
11. 3.55.2 Ken Hall Goteborg, Sweden 12 Aug 75
12. 3.55.59 Graham Crouch Stockholm, Sweden 1 Jul 74
13. 3.55.75 Scott Petersen Melbourne 20 Feb 97
14. 3.55.9 Merv Lincoln Dublin,Ireland 6 Aug 58
15. 3.56.23 Youcef Abdi Eugene,USA 24 May 03
16. 3.56.27 Lachlan Chisholm Brisbane 6 May 05
17. 3.56.52 Andrew Lloyd London,GBR 27 May 90
18. 3.56.59 Steve Foley Dublin, Ireland 10 Jul 79
19. 3.56.8 Peter Fuller Melbourne 9 Jan 74
20. 3.57.12 Holt Hardy Melbourne 25 Feb 98
21. 3.57.27 Mitch Kealey London, GBR 25 Jul 08
22. 3.57.3 Chris Fisher Eugene, USA 18 May 75
23. 3.57.53 Peter Bourke London, GBR 11 Jul 86
24. 3.57.79 Steve Austin Melbourne 14 Jan 82
25. 3:57.86 Sam McEntee State College, USA 28 Jan 12


Also of note was senior Shericka Ward's PR in the 60 meter hurdles. Her time of 8.25 places her at #10 in the NCAA so far this season. The NCAA automatic qualifier in the 60H is 8.10 She is also currently ranked #27 in the NCAA at 200 meters.

Sam Ellison ran a 1:49.37 PR over 800 meters at Penn State, placing him at #16 on the NCAA performance list. In the same event, Chris FitzSimons continued his steady recovery of fitness after injury. His 1:51.06 (NCAA #42) over the weekend portends good things over the next two months.

Freshman Courtney Chapman and sophomore Emily Lipari both cracked the NCAA top 50 in the 3000 meters. Chapman ran 9:31.21 (NCAA #47), while Lipari's 9:32.05 sits at NCAA #50. Lipari's 4:42.35 mile from the January 20th Albany Great Dane meet at the Armory ranks her 21st in the NCAA at that distance.

The men's DMR team of Chris O'Sullivan (2:59), Cory Serfoss (50.5), Chris FitzSimons (1:52), and Brian Tetreault (4:06) was fourth at the Penn State meet, in 9:48.64 (almost 18 seconds slower than the NCAA auto qualifier). That time currently is the 9th fastest in the country. When push comes to shove, we expect Tetreault to replace O'Sullivan in the 1200 meter opening leg, and newly minted 3:57 miler Sam McEntee to be placed in the 1600 anchor.

Also on the men's side, four men competed over 3000 meters. Brian Long, running unattached, was the second fastest competitor of the day, running 8:11.12. Rob Denault (also unattached) went 8:23.51 to win his heat. Joe LoRusso ran 8:23.85 and Alex Tully came home in 8:26.92. The NCAA auto qualifier is 7:52.80.

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