Division 3 Weekly Recap (Apr 15-16, 2011)
Division 3 Weekly Recap (Apr 15-16, 2011)
Though Division 1 was alight with top performances, this was a bit of a down week for Division 3. However, there were still some bright spots in a weekend where many of the division’s top stars took a break from the rigors of competition.
The Bison Outdoor Classic proved to be the premier distance meet of the weekend. Allegheny’s champion DMR anchor Tony Dipre posted the second-fastest 1500 time of the year with a 3:50.84 clocking against some tough competition. In the 5k, Dickinson’s Kent Pecora rolled to a 14:33.11 provisional mark, and, not far behind, teammate Dylan Straughan posted a solid 14:37.47. Bobby Henchen of Genseo also hit the provisional mark with a 14:41.18 showing. In the 10k, Brian Krussel, also of Dickinson, added a 30:58.39 provo to his team’s distance success.
The women’s side was dominated by the distances, where Alycia Woodruff of Susquehanna broke 18 for the first time in almost two years en route to a 17:14.76 provisional mark, good for sixth on the performance lists. However, the 10k stole the show with six girls under 37 minutes, including two freshmen from Elizabethtown. One of those freshmen, Traci Tempone, was the top D3 competitor with a 36:24.05 finish, though Cortland’s Alyson Dalton and Dickinson’s Catherine Campbell were less than a second behind. Elizabeth town’s Eileen Cody, Dickinson’s Kimberley Powell, and Rutgers-Camden’s Robin England rounded out the provisional qualifiers. In the steeple, Geneseo’s Marisa Liberati ran 10:37.00, the fifth automatic qualifier in that event, while teammate Alyssa Smith and Ithaca’s Heidi Baumbach hit the provisional mark with times of 10:57.10 and 11:08.60, respectively. Ithaca’s Kate Leugers ran to the 1500 provisional mark with a 4:37.66 clocking in the fast heat, but 800 All-American Sheena Crawley of Franklin and Marshall bested that time by demolishing one of the slower heats in a huge personal best of 4:32.91, the division's second fastest-time thus far.
There weren’t any other completely stacked meets—like there have been in previous weeks—but there were many with a few quality events. One such meet was the Augustana Meet of Champions, which featured a loaded men’s 10k. Terry Witowski of UW-Stevens Point led four others to the provisional standard with a 30:43.36 victory, though Nate Petesch and Jason Garvens, both of UW-Platteville, were within ten seconds of him. Witowski’s teammate, Joel Heroux, finished shortly thereafter in 30:58.16, and Brian Pollastrini of host Augustana was the final provisional qualifier with a 31:00.04 mark.
The 1500 was the premier event in the women’s half of the meet. Claire Roberts of UW-Stevens Point got a nice victory in 4:35.68 over indoor 800 runner-up Ann Tank, though Tank did show some good range with a 4:37.51 provisional mark.
The Wheaton Twilight featured some solid 5k performances, with indoor champ Mike Spain of North Central getting the victory in 14:34.79 (along with a 3:55.12 win in the 1500). Teammate Dan Kerley was close behind in 14:38.72, separated only by Mark Phillips of host Wheaton, who posted a big personal best of 14:37.24. In the women’s 5k, Amanda Laesch, also of North Central, cruised to a 17:14.12 victory to put herself third on the performance lists. The only mid-distance qualifier came from Tara Watson of Illinois Wesleyan, who won the 800 with a time of 2:12.96.
Though the Mt. Sac Relays were mostly filled with D1 competitors, some D3 stars made their presence known. In the 1500, Stefan Redfield of Willamette posted a solid personal best of 3:53.35, while Jackson Brainerd of Colorado College—who ran 3:57 at altitude last week—only managed another 3:57. In the steeple, Anders Crabo of Pomona-Pitzer improved on his previous provisional mark with a 9:13.30 clocking, while in a separate heat, Ben Donavan of Willamette rolled to a 9:18.22 personal best.
On the women’s side, Taylor Stephens on Rhodes posted a time of 35:50.55, just missing the automatic qualifier. In contrast, Willamette’s Kimber Mattox left no doubt about besting automatic mark in the steeple. Already the division-leader in the 5k, she impressed with a 10:23.34, demolishing the auto standard by nearly twenty seconds. Her time now ranks seventh on the all-time D3 lists—though it should be noted that the steeple has only been a nationally contested women’s event in D3 since 2002.
Other scattered performances of note on the men’s side include a nice 5k at the Rose-Hulman Twilight Meet, where David Spandorfer and teammate Michael Burnstein of Wash U rolled to provisional times of 14:38.91 and 14:42.59, and Noah Droddy of DePauw also snuck under the provisional standard with a 14:44.96 clocking. Elsewhere, Brian Fuller of Springfield ran 9:12.64, the fourth fastest time in the division, while Kale Booher of Ohio Wesleyan and Dan Whisler of Mount Union pushed each other to provisional times of 9:21.86 and 9:22.68. Also of note in the 400 meter distance was freshman Brandon Bennett-Green of Neumann, third place finisher indoors, who posted an automatic mark of 47.44. In the hurdles, Kevin Cunningham and Terry Smith, both of McMurry, posted identical automatic marks of 52.36. In the shorter sprints, Eric Woodruff of Moravian showed off his speed with division-leading 100 and 200 times of 10.48 and 21.28.
On the women’s side, Liz Phillips of Wash U ran a 4:35.21 provo in the 1500, and mile champion Randelle Boots posted her first provisional mark of the season with a 4:37.75 clocking. Amy Knoblock of Keene State, third place finisher in the mile, posted a provo of her own with a 17:29.16 performance in the 5k. And last but certainly not least, Joanna Johnson of Oberlin, All-American in the indoor 5k, ran the division’s second fastest time in the 10k with a 35:40.29 automatic qualifier.
This weekend there were some more solid performances from D3 alumni not named Nick Symmonds: 2010 cross country champion Ricky Flynn, alumnus of Lynchburg, ran 29:21.31 at Mt. Sac, and I overlooked it at the time, but a few weeks ago he ran 13:59.42—a fantastic result for him. Also at Mt. Sac was Williams alum and two-time 1500 meter runner-up Macklin Chaffee, who took on the loaded elite 1500 field and came out with a new personal best of 3:41.14 and a solid eighth place finish, beating Montana State’s Patrick Casey and coming in only a second behind Olympian Matt Tegenkamp in the process.
And, finally, it’s time for this week’s shout-outs: indoor pole vault all-time record holder Abigail Schaffer of Moravian moves to fourth on the outdoor all-time lists with a clearance of 4.06 meters. Meanwhile, sophomore Carter Comito of Whitworth moves all the way to fourth after an incredible toss of 59.41 meters.
That’s it for this week, though I'm sure we can expect some even better performances next week. Also, be sure to check in for an interview with distance star Mike Spain of North Central, which will hopefully come out before the end of the week.
The Bison Outdoor Classic proved to be the premier distance meet of the weekend. Allegheny’s champion DMR anchor Tony Dipre posted the second-fastest 1500 time of the year with a 3:50.84 clocking against some tough competition. In the 5k, Dickinson’s Kent Pecora rolled to a 14:33.11 provisional mark, and, not far behind, teammate Dylan Straughan posted a solid 14:37.47. Bobby Henchen of Genseo also hit the provisional mark with a 14:41.18 showing. In the 10k, Brian Krussel, also of Dickinson, added a 30:58.39 provo to his team’s distance success.
The women’s side was dominated by the distances, where Alycia Woodruff of Susquehanna broke 18 for the first time in almost two years en route to a 17:14.76 provisional mark, good for sixth on the performance lists. However, the 10k stole the show with six girls under 37 minutes, including two freshmen from Elizabethtown. One of those freshmen, Traci Tempone, was the top D3 competitor with a 36:24.05 finish, though Cortland’s Alyson Dalton and Dickinson’s Catherine Campbell were less than a second behind. Elizabeth town’s Eileen Cody, Dickinson’s Kimberley Powell, and Rutgers-Camden’s Robin England rounded out the provisional qualifiers. In the steeple, Geneseo’s Marisa Liberati ran 10:37.00, the fifth automatic qualifier in that event, while teammate Alyssa Smith and Ithaca’s Heidi Baumbach hit the provisional mark with times of 10:57.10 and 11:08.60, respectively. Ithaca’s Kate Leugers ran to the 1500 provisional mark with a 4:37.66 clocking in the fast heat, but 800 All-American Sheena Crawley of Franklin and Marshall bested that time by demolishing one of the slower heats in a huge personal best of 4:32.91, the division's second fastest-time thus far.
There weren’t any other completely stacked meets—like there have been in previous weeks—but there were many with a few quality events. One such meet was the Augustana Meet of Champions, which featured a loaded men’s 10k. Terry Witowski of UW-Stevens Point led four others to the provisional standard with a 30:43.36 victory, though Nate Petesch and Jason Garvens, both of UW-Platteville, were within ten seconds of him. Witowski’s teammate, Joel Heroux, finished shortly thereafter in 30:58.16, and Brian Pollastrini of host Augustana was the final provisional qualifier with a 31:00.04 mark.
The 1500 was the premier event in the women’s half of the meet. Claire Roberts of UW-Stevens Point got a nice victory in 4:35.68 over indoor 800 runner-up Ann Tank, though Tank did show some good range with a 4:37.51 provisional mark.
The Wheaton Twilight featured some solid 5k performances, with indoor champ Mike Spain of North Central getting the victory in 14:34.79 (along with a 3:55.12 win in the 1500). Teammate Dan Kerley was close behind in 14:38.72, separated only by Mark Phillips of host Wheaton, who posted a big personal best of 14:37.24. In the women’s 5k, Amanda Laesch, also of North Central, cruised to a 17:14.12 victory to put herself third on the performance lists. The only mid-distance qualifier came from Tara Watson of Illinois Wesleyan, who won the 800 with a time of 2:12.96.
Though the Mt. Sac Relays were mostly filled with D1 competitors, some D3 stars made their presence known. In the 1500, Stefan Redfield of Willamette posted a solid personal best of 3:53.35, while Jackson Brainerd of Colorado College—who ran 3:57 at altitude last week—only managed another 3:57. In the steeple, Anders Crabo of Pomona-Pitzer improved on his previous provisional mark with a 9:13.30 clocking, while in a separate heat, Ben Donavan of Willamette rolled to a 9:18.22 personal best.
On the women’s side, Taylor Stephens on Rhodes posted a time of 35:50.55, just missing the automatic qualifier. In contrast, Willamette’s Kimber Mattox left no doubt about besting automatic mark in the steeple. Already the division-leader in the 5k, she impressed with a 10:23.34, demolishing the auto standard by nearly twenty seconds. Her time now ranks seventh on the all-time D3 lists—though it should be noted that the steeple has only been a nationally contested women’s event in D3 since 2002.
Other scattered performances of note on the men’s side include a nice 5k at the Rose-Hulman Twilight Meet, where David Spandorfer and teammate Michael Burnstein of Wash U rolled to provisional times of 14:38.91 and 14:42.59, and Noah Droddy of DePauw also snuck under the provisional standard with a 14:44.96 clocking. Elsewhere, Brian Fuller of Springfield ran 9:12.64, the fourth fastest time in the division, while Kale Booher of Ohio Wesleyan and Dan Whisler of Mount Union pushed each other to provisional times of 9:21.86 and 9:22.68. Also of note in the 400 meter distance was freshman Brandon Bennett-Green of Neumann, third place finisher indoors, who posted an automatic mark of 47.44. In the hurdles, Kevin Cunningham and Terry Smith, both of McMurry, posted identical automatic marks of 52.36. In the shorter sprints, Eric Woodruff of Moravian showed off his speed with division-leading 100 and 200 times of 10.48 and 21.28.
On the women’s side, Liz Phillips of Wash U ran a 4:35.21 provo in the 1500, and mile champion Randelle Boots posted her first provisional mark of the season with a 4:37.75 clocking. Amy Knoblock of Keene State, third place finisher in the mile, posted a provo of her own with a 17:29.16 performance in the 5k. And last but certainly not least, Joanna Johnson of Oberlin, All-American in the indoor 5k, ran the division’s second fastest time in the 10k with a 35:40.29 automatic qualifier.
This weekend there were some more solid performances from D3 alumni not named Nick Symmonds: 2010 cross country champion Ricky Flynn, alumnus of Lynchburg, ran 29:21.31 at Mt. Sac, and I overlooked it at the time, but a few weeks ago he ran 13:59.42—a fantastic result for him. Also at Mt. Sac was Williams alum and two-time 1500 meter runner-up Macklin Chaffee, who took on the loaded elite 1500 field and came out with a new personal best of 3:41.14 and a solid eighth place finish, beating Montana State’s Patrick Casey and coming in only a second behind Olympian Matt Tegenkamp in the process.
And, finally, it’s time for this week’s shout-outs: indoor pole vault all-time record holder Abigail Schaffer of Moravian moves to fourth on the outdoor all-time lists with a clearance of 4.06 meters. Meanwhile, sophomore Carter Comito of Whitworth moves all the way to fourth after an incredible toss of 59.41 meters.
That’s it for this week, though I'm sure we can expect some even better performances next week. Also, be sure to check in for an interview with distance star Mike Spain of North Central, which will hopefully come out before the end of the week.