[Pcalumnixctrack] Providence College Men’s and Women’s Track Set For BIG EAST Outdoor Championships

[Laura A Nagel]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 12, 2016
Contact: Laura Nagel, 401-865-1245

Providence College Men’s and Women’s Track Set For BIG EAST Outdoor Championships
This years’ championship will take place at the SPIRE Institute in Geneva, Ohio on May 13-14.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The Providence College men’s and women’s track teams will travel to the SPIRE Institute in Geneva, Ohio on May 13-14 for the 2016 BIG EAST Outdoor Track & Field Championships.

The team will be strong in the middle distance events, where the qualifying rounds on Friday will see the highly ranked Friars like seniors Julian Oakley (Tauranga, New Zealand) and Molly Keating (Rehoboth, Mass.) and freshman Nick Carleo (Newburyport, Mass.) in the 1,500 meter prelims and seniors Joseph Vercollone (Pembroke, Mass.) and Harvey Dixon (Gibraltar, Gibraltar) in the 800 meters. For the 1,500 meter prelims, the competitors need to finish top-four in their respective heats or have one of the four next fastest times to advance to the final. The women’s 1,500 meters is up first at 2:00 p.m., followed by the men’s 1,500 meters at 2:15 p.m. The men in the 800 meters will step onto the track for their prelim at 3:45 p.m. and will need to finish top-two in their respective heats or as one of the next four fastest individuals to advance to the final on Saturday.

Sophomore Brianna Ilarda (Perth, Australia) and junior Keelin Hollowood (Saratoga Springs, N.Y.) will compete in the first final of the BIG EAST Championship, in the 3,000 meter steeplechase set to begin at 5:30 p.m. Ilarda placed second in the steeplechase last year and will look to collect her first BIG EAST title in the event. She also ran a time of 10:04.17 at the Ocean State Invitational on April 15, followed by another 10:04 performance at the Penn Relays for the win this season. Hollowood also ran a personal best (10:39.11) at the Ocean State Invitational and will be looking to improve on that and earn points for the Friars.

On the men’s side, graduate-student Jordan Mann (St. Louis, Mo.) also will compete for his first BIG EAST title in the steeplechase. Mann finished third in the 3,000 meters at the BIG EAST Indoor Championship in February and ran a personal best in the steeple at the Ocean State Invitational with a time of 8:52.36 for the win. The men’s steeplechase will follow the women at 5:45 p.m.

To cap off the evening, the 10,000 meter runners will step onto the track. First up for the Providence women, sophomore Katie Lembo (Penfield, N.Y.) will make her debut in the event. Lembo ran a career-best 16:11.53 in the 5,000 meters at the Ocean State Invitational and will look to collect her first BIG EAST title in the event. The women’s 10,000 meters is scheduled for a 6:00 p.m. start.

The men’s 10,000 meters is scheduled to begin at 6:45 p.m. and will feature junior Trevor Crawley (Cumberland, R.I.) and seniors Stephen Robertson (Wakefield, Mass.) and Christian Costello (Ridgewood, N.J.). Crawley placed fourth in the BIG EAST 10,000 meters last year and will look to improve on his performance this year.

On day two of the Championships the men’s 5,000 meters will feature graduate-student Liam Hillery (Smithfield, R.I.), junior Hugh Armstrong (Ballina, County Mayo, Ireland) and sophomore Aaron Hanlon (Drogheda, Ireland). Hillery ran a personal-best time of 14:07.44 to win the Ocean State Invitational on April 15 and then followed that up with a personal-best in the 10,000 meters for the win at Penn Relays in 29.22.38. Armstrong also has run career best over the past few weeks. The Irishman clocked in at 29:16.73 in the 10,000 meters at the Stanford Invitational on April 1 to rank 10th all-time at Providence at the distance. Additionally, Armstrong ran a personal best in the 5,000 meters at the Ocean State Invitational where he finished third (14:09.79). This event will begin at 4:00 p.m.

Senior Sarah Collins (Basel, Switzerland), junior Catarina Rocha (Peabody, Mass.) and sophomore Mackenzie  Barry (Mendham, N.J.) will all race in the women’s 5,000 meters scheduled to start at 3:40 p.m. on Saturday. Collins earned Second Team All-America honors during the indoor season in the 5,000 meters and is coming off of a first-place performance in the 10,000 meters at the Penn Relays. Earlier in the season, Rocha clocked in at 33:40.30 for eighth place at the Stanford Invitational 10,000 meters, which marked the fifth-best 10,000 meters all-time at Providence College. Rocha also collected a Penn Relays title in the 3,000 meters.

Returning from his fifth-place finish at the BIG EAST Indoor Championships in the triple jump, sophomore John Olayiwola (New Britain, Conn.) will compete in the triple jump and long jump for Providence. The triple jump is scheduled for a 2:00 p.m. start on Saturday, while the long jump will begin at 2:30 p.m. on Friday.

Additionally, sophomore Brian Zied (Glen Rock, N.J.) will be busy this weekend. Zied will compete in the 110 and 400 meter hurdles, high jump and relays for the Friars. Zied currently sits at No. 3 in the BIG EAST in the 110 meter hurdles after he ran a time of 15.78 at the Brown Springtime Open on May 1.

The 2016 BIG EAST Outdoor Championships 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<http://www.FoxSportsGO.com>. Fans can also follow at FriarsXCTrack on Twitter for live updates.

- GO FRIARS -



Laura Nagel
Athletic Media Relations Graduate Assistant
Providence College
1 Cunningham Square
Providence, R.I. 02918
(c) 401-527-2661
(o) 401-865-1245
<http://cargocollective.com/lauranagel>Online Portfolio<https://www.behance.net/lauraanagel>
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