[Pcalumnixctrack] Providence College Men's and Women's Set To Compete At NCAA First Round

[Laura A Nagel]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Thursday, May 26, 2016
Contact: Laura Nagel, 401-865-1245<tel:401-865-1245>

Providence College Men's and Women's Set To Compete At NCAA First Round
Five men and four women will represent the Friars at the NCAA First Round in Jacksonville, Fla. on May 26-28.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. - The Providence College men's and women's track teams travel to Jacksonville, Fla. on May 26-28 for the NCAA First Round. Five men and four women will represent the Friars.

First up for the Friars will be senior Julian Oakley (Tauranga, New Zealand). Oakley will compete in the 1,500 meters at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday, May 26. He is ranked 18th in the East after posting 3:42.99 at the Wolf Pack Last Chance Meet. In order to advance to the quarterfinal on Saturday, May 28, Oakley needs to finish among the top-5 in his heat or as one of the four next fastest individuals in the field.

On Thursday evening, senior Sarah Collins (Basel, Switzerland) and junior Catarina Rocha (Peabody, Mass.) will look to advance to the NCAA Championship in the 10,000 meters. Rocha is ranked eighth in the East after he 33:40.30 performance at the Stanford Invitational, while Collins is sitting at No. 14 with her 34:03.07 performance at the Penn Relays. The women's 10,000 meters is scheduled for a 9:00 p.m. start. Both Collins and Rocha need to finish among the top-12 in the field to advance to the NCAA Championship in Eugene, Ore. on June 8-11.

To cap off Thursday night, the men's 10,000 meter runners will step onto the track for a 9:40 p.m. start. Graduate-student Liam Hillery (Smithfield, R.I.) and junior Hugh Armstrong (Ballina, County Mayo, Ireland) will compete for Providence. Hillery ranks No. 20 in the east after his 29:22.38 performance at Penn Relays, while Armstrong clocked in at 29:16.73 at the Stanford Invitational to rank No. 15. Hillery and Armstrong also will need to finish among the top-12 in the field to move onto Eugene.

On Friday, May 27, sophomore Brianna Ilarda (Perth, Australia) and graduate-student Jordan Mann (St. Louis, Mo.) both will compete in their respective 3,000-meter steeplechase events. Ilarda is seeded as the No. 8 female runner in the East with a personal best 9:59.54 from the BIG EAST Championships and will begin racing at 8:50 p.m. Mann, who ran a personal best at the Ocean State Invitational (8:52.36), ranks No. 25 in the East for men. Ilarda and Mann each will need to finish top-3 in their respective heats or as one of the three next fastest individuals to advance to the NCAA Championship.

To conclude the meet, sophomore Katie Lembo (Penfield, N.Y.) will compete in the women's 5,000 meters scheduled for an 8:05 p.m. start on Saturday, May 28, while junior Trevor Crawley will race in the men's 5,000 meters that is set for an 8:45 p.m. start. Lembo earned a No. 12 ranking in the East after her 16:11.53 performance at the Ocean State Invitational, while Crawley also grabbed his qualifying spot (No. 47) at the same meet with a time of 14:09.19. Lembo and Crawley each need to finish among the top-5 in their respective heats or as the next two fastest individuals.

Follow @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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