[Pcalumnixctrack] Three Track Athletes Qualify For First Round of NCAA Championships

[Sullivan, Brendan T]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 17, 2017

Contact- Brendan Sullivan (401) 865-1245



Three Track Athletes Qualify For First Round of NCAA Championships

The First Round will take place in Tampa, Fla. on May 24-26.



PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The NCAA announced qualifiers for the First Round of the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships on Thursday, May 17. The Friars had three athletes qualify for the Championship.



The First Round is split into two regions, the East and the West. In each region, the top 48 declared athletes in each event qualify for the First Round. The East Region will take place in Tampa, Fla. while the West Region will take place in Sacramento, Calif. Both meets will take place on May 24-26. The top 12 finishers in each event will qualify for the NCAA Championship Finals, which will be held in Eugene, Ore. on June 5-9.



Graduate student Catarina Rocha (Peabody, Mass.) will be competing in the 5,000 meters. Rocha enters the meet as the ninth seed. Rocha achieved her qualifying time at the Raleigh Relays when she ran a time of 15:55.86. Rocha has had a stellar year for Providence, capturing the BIG EAST individual cross country title, the BIG EAST indoor 5,000-meter title, and the BIG EAST outdoor 10,000-meter title. She has set personal bests in both the 3,000 meters (9:17.60) and the 5,000 meters (15:55.86) and finished second in the 3,000 meters at the Penn Relays. This is the fourth time that Rocha has qualified for the First Round of the NCAA Championships in her career having raced in the 5,000 meters in 2014, the 10,000 meters in 2015, and the 5,000 meters in 2017.



Sophomore Abbey Wheeler (Pine City, N.Y.) qualified in the 5,000 meters when she ran a time of 15:57.18 at the Raleigh Relays. She enters the meet as the 10th seed. Wheeler has set personal bests in both the 5,000 meters and the 3,000 meters (9:18.86) this year. Indoors, Wheeler won the ECAC 3,000-meter title. This is the second time in her career that she has qualified for the First Round of the NCAA Championships, as she raced in the 5,000 meters in 2017.



Sophomore Nick Carleo (Newburyport, Mass.) will be competing in the 1,500 meters. He qualified for the meet after running a time of 3:45.20 at the Providence vs. Brown Dual Meet. This is the second time that Carleo has qualified for the First Round of the NCAA Championships, as he raced in the 1,500 meters in 2017.





-GO FRIARS!-

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