[Pcalumnixctrack] Ilarda, Paladino, Oakley to Compete in Final Round of NCAA Championships

[Sullivan, Brendan T]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 2, 2017

Contact- Brendan Sullivan (401) 865-1245



Ilarda, Paladino, Oakley to Compete in Final Round of NCAA Championships




PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The Providence College track and field teams are set to compete at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Ore., on June 7-10. The Friars had three athletes qualify for the final round of the championships and will be competing in the women’s 1,500, the women’s 3,000-meter Steeplechase and the men’s 5,000 Meters.



Junior Brianna Ilarda (Perth, Australia) will compete in the 3,000-meter Steeplechase for the second year in a row. Ilarda will look to improve upon last year’s NCAA Outdoor Championships, where she finished 10th overall to earn Second Team All-America honors. Ilarda has been one of the most consistent runners for the Friar over the past few seasons. During the Cross Country season, she led the Friars to their third BIG EAST title in the last four years by finishing third overall. She then went on to finish 68th at the NCAA cross country Championships. The success rolled into the indoor season as she set personal bests in the mile (4:43.25), the 3,000 meters (9:20.62) and the 5,000 meters (15:46.13). At the BIG EAST Championships, Ilarda led the Distance Medley Relay to a second-place finish as well. She finished second place individually in the 3,000 meters. She finished seventh overall in the 5,000 meters at the NCAA Indoor Championships to earn First Team All-America honors. She opened up her outdoor season with a fourth-place finish in the 5,000 meters at the Stanford Invitational (15:46.90). Ilarda made history at the 123rd Annual Penn Relays by being the first woman to ever repeat as 3,000-meter Steeplechase Champion and also became the fastest collegiate woman ever in the event in Penn Relays history with a time of 9:57.22. Ilarda then broke Rosin McGettigan’s 3,000-meter Steeplechase BIG EAST Meet record when she repeated as BIG EAST Champion with a time of 9:56.33. Ilarda is the fourth seed entering the NCAA Outdoor Championships.



Junior Millie Paladino (Morgantown, W. Va.) will race in the 1,500 meters at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. In her first year as a part of the Providence squad, Paladino has made an instant impact, racing her way into the Friar record books. Paladino’s standout performance during the Cross Country season was her 55th place finish in at the NCAA Championships. It was during the Indoor season that Paladino began to really shine. At the BU Valentine Invitational in February, Paladino ran 4:34.49 in the mile to become third fastest woman in Providence history behind Olympians Kim Smith and Marie McMahon. She then went on to become the fourth Friar ever, and first since Roisin McGettigan in 2002, to win the mile at the BIG EAST Indoor Championships. She then finished seventh in same event at the NCAA Indoor Championships to earn First Team All-America honors, the first of her career. She opened up her outdoor season with a second place finish in the 1,500 meters at the Stanford Invitational with a time of 4:14.76. At the First Round of the NCAA Outdoor Championships, Paladino raced to a time of 4:12.54 to qualify for the final round of the NCAA Championships. Her time ranks second in Providence history, only behind Olympian Amy Rudolph. She enters the NCAA Championships seeded sixth.



Graduate Student Julian Oakley (Tauranga, New Zealand) looks to end his career on a high note in the 5,000 meters at the NCAA Championships. This is Oakley’s first time qualifying for the Outdoor championships after being a two-time qualifier for the NCAA Indoor Championships during his career at Providence. Oakley was consistently the top runner for the Friars throughout the Cross Country season. His fourth-place finish at the BIG EAST Championships led the Friars to a second place finish. His sixth-place finish at the NCAA Northeast Regional meet led the Friars to an at-large bid to qualify for the NCAA Championships. While out of eligibility during the Indoor season, Oakley continued to race unattached, running times of 3:58.27 in the mile and 7:54.10 in the 3,000 meters. During the outdoor season, Oakley made his career debut in the 5,000 meters at the 123rd Penn Relays, running a time of 13:55.45 to finish third overall. Oakley again raced the 5,000 meters at the first round of the NCAA Outdoor Championships, where he finished fifth in his heat to automatically qualify for the final round. Oakley enters the meet ranked 17th.



The final round of the NCAA Outdoor Championships will take place in Eugene, Ore. on June 7-10. The men will compete on the June 7 and June 9 while the women will compete on June 8 and 10. The preliminary heats of both the women’s 1,500 meters and women’s 3,000-meter Steeplechase will be on Thursday, June 8 with the 1,500 meters starting at 4:46 p.m. PT followed by the Steeplechase at 5:02 p.m. PT. The finals of both events are set to take place on Saturday, June 10. The finals of the men’s 5,000 meters will take place on Friday, June 9 at 7:25 p.m. PT. Information regarding Live Results, Live Streaming and TV coverage will be released at a later time.



-GO FRIARS!-





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