[Pcalumnixctrack] Providence College Men’s And Women’s Track Team Complete Day One At BIG EAST Indoor Championships

[Laura A Nagel]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 26, 2016
Contact: Laura Nagel, 401-865-1245

Providence College Men’s And Women’s Track Team Complete Day One At BIG EAST Indoor Championships
Lauren Mullins captured a second-place finish in the 5,000 meters.

Staten Island, N.Y. – The Providence College men’s and women’s track teams completed day one of two today (Feb. 26) at Ocean Breeze Park in Staten Island, N.Y. for the BIG EAST Indoor Championships.

Senior Harvey Dixon (Gibraltar, Gibraltar) and freshman Michael O’Leary (Melville, N.Y.) kicked off the morning in the 1,000 meter heats. O’Leary finished third in the first of two heats (2:28.99), while Dixon placed fourth in the second heat (2:29.85). Both men advanced to the final tomorrow (10:40 a.m.).

Sophomore Brian Zied (Ramsey, N.J.) was up next in the 60-meter hurdles. Zied ran a personal best 8.82 to advance to the final, which will take place at 11:00 a.m. tomorrow.

The men’s squad continued to produce personal best performances after junior James Campbell (Cumberland, Maine) posted a personal best time of 1:06.13 to advance to the final of the 500 meters. That event will take place tomorrow at 12:00 p.m.

Next up was senior Joseph Vercollone (Pembroke, Mass.) in the 800 meters. Vercollone posted the eighth-fastest time of the day to advance to the final at 12:20 p.m. tomorrow.

The women’s 5,000 meters proved to be an exciting race with seniors Lauren Mullins (Binghamton, N.Y.) and Sarah Collins (Basel, Switzerland) holding themselves in the top-4 for the majority of the race. As it neared the end, Mullins covered every move made by Butlers Olivia Pratt until the final lap. Mullins finished in second-place, while Collins captured fourth. Additionally, sophomore Mackenzie Barry (Mendham, N.J.) finished in ninth for the Friars, running a personal best time of 17:03.04.

The distance men then stepped onto the track for their crack at the 5,000 meters, which ended up being a 5,200 meter race after laps were miscounted. The race spread out quickly, leaving graduate-student Shane Quinn (Waterford, Ireland) leading the chase pack with fellow classmate Liam Hillery (Smithfield, R.I.), junior Hugh Armstrong (Ballina, County Mayo, Ireland) and sophomore Aaron Hanlon (Drogheda, Ireland) in tow. As the race progressed, Quinn picked up the pace, shaking off some or the competition to leave just him, Hillery and a Villanova Wildcat, while Armstrong and Hanlon were hanging off the back. With just a few laps remaining Hillery surged and came away with a fifth-place finish, while Quinn held onto sixth. Armstrong also picked up seventh place to score for the Friars.

To wrap up the afternoon, the distance medley relays each had their turn at scoring points. The women’s DMR, consisting of senior Molly Keating (Rehoboth, Mass.), junior Catarina Rocha (Peabody, Mass.), and sophomores Brianna Ilarda (Perth, Australia) and Katie Lembo (Penfield, N.Y.) picked up fourth-place. Rocha put in a huge effort on the final leg of the race (mile) to catch Marquette, who had almost a 100-meter gap on the Friars. She helped the Friars to a fourth-place finish, giving the squad a time of 11:33.76.

Graduate-student Jordan Mann (St. Louis, Mo.) anchored the men’s distance medley relay who sat in fourth at the last hand off. Mann gradually worked his way up to overtake third-place and gave the Friars an additional six-points with the finish. Senior Junior Oakley (Tauranga, New Zealand), Campbell and sophomore Andrew Doherty (Taunton, Mass.) were also members of the squad to earn the podium finish.

The Friars return to action tomorrow (Feb. 27) for the second and final day of the Championships at Ocean Breeze Park in Staten Island, N.Y. with competition beginning at 10:10 a.m. Follow @FriarsXCTrack on Twitter for live updates. The championships also will be streamed live on the BIG EAST Digital Network via the FoxSportsGO app on a mobile device or tablet. Using a laptop or desktop computer, please navigate to www. FoxSportsGO.com.

- GO FRIARS -


Laura Nagel
Sports Information Graduate Assistant
Providence College
1 Cunningham Square
Providence, R.I. 02918
(o) 401-865-1245
Online Portfolio<http://cargocollective.com/lauranagel>
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