[Pcalumnixctrack] Matthews Leads Charge at Valentine Invitational

[John J Carchedi]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – February 12, 2012
Contact – John Carchedi (401) 865 1245


Matthews Leads Charge at Valentine Invitational
Senior sizzles through mile; Men’s Track gears for BIG EAST with strong outing.


BOSTON, MASS. – With just one week to go before the BIG EAST Championships, the Providence College men’s track and field team capitalized on a final tune up with several key performances at the Valentine Invitational.

Senior Julian Matthews (Nelson, New Zealand) stormed through the mile in a time of 3:59.34, just .77 of a second off his personal best. The All-American’s effort Saturday easily surpassed the BIG EAST and IC4A qualifying standards, and ranks as one of the top ten times in the nation this season.

Also running well in the mile was freshman Shane Quinn (Waterford, Ireland), who continued his strong debut as a Friar with a 4:05.68. That performance shattered the BIG EAST and IC4A standards.

Senior Lee Carey (Bedworth, England) finished the 3000-meters with a posting of 8:21.00, and like Matthews and Quinn, qualified for the two post-season meets. Teammate Jonathan Hopkins (Bridgend, Wales) was close behind with an IC4A worthy 8:26.85

Providence earned another BIG EAST qualifier in the sprints, as sophomore Gerry Briand (Bernardsville, N.J.) turned in a 200-meter time of 22.67, two-tenths of a second faster than the conference mark. This will mark his first trip to the league championships.

Meanwhile, classmate Nik Andrews (Clarksburg, Mass.) earned a return to the conference meet with a 400-meter posting of 49.63.

Two other Friars flirting with a berth at the BIG EAST were freshman Phelan McCormack (Pearl River, N.Y.), who completed the 1000-meters in 2:31.10, and junior Nik Rebovich (New Hartford, N.Y.) who cruised through the 800 in 1:56.85.

In the 5000-meters, junior Eric Malnatti (Walpole, N.H.) finished in 14:47.75, a mere .61 of a second shy of conference qualifying.

The Friars now prepare for that BIG EAST Championship. This year, the event will begin Saturday, February 18 at the Armory in New York, New York.

- Go Friars -



John Carchedi
Athletic Media Relations
Providence College
1 Cunningham Square
Providence, RI 02918
 jcarched at friars.providence.edu
401-865-1245 (o)
617-276-6893 (c)
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