WVU Ties for Fifth, Bland Earns HonorBy Allison Hoehn for MSNsportsNet.com
February 22, 2009
WASHINGTON HEIGHTS, N.Y. - Two West Virginia University track and field records were shattered today by juniors Keri Bland and April Rotilio in the mile and 400-meter event, respectively, to lead the Mountaineers to a fifth-place finish at the BIG EAST Indoor Track and Field Championships in New York City.
For her efforts throughout the meet, Bland was named the meet’s Most Outstanding Track Performer, voted on by all 16 women’s head coaches. She shared the award with Providence’s Danette Doetzel.
WVU earned 74 points to tie with Notre Dame for the fifth-place finish, while UConn took home their second-consecutive championship title with 107 points. Georgetown took second with 98 points followed by Louisville (88) and Villanova (74.50).
“I think it was almost a near-perfect meet,” commented Coach Sean Cleary. “To finish as close to humanly possible to fourth in this meet was fantastic. Ninety percent of our program ran personal-bests this weekend, and to come in and do that in a pressure situation that is the BIG EAST Championship, is beyond great.”
Bland set a school and BIG EAST Championship meet record in the mile event when she took the title with a time of 4:34.78. Bland’s performance was also a NCAA automatic qualifier. The previous WVU record was set at 4:35.89 by Megan Metcalfe in 2004, and the BIG EAST Indoor Championship meet record was originally set by Kate Vermeulen of West Virginia in 1999.
“That was huge,” said Cleary. “Her performance was the highlight of the meet for what she did.”
Rotilio set a new school record and took third in the 400-meter event with a time of 54.38. The mark was also a personal best for the Bellaire, Ohio, native and a NCAA provisional time.
Chelsea Carrier finished second in the 60-meter hurdle event with an NCAA provisional time of 8.39. The mark is also a personal record and the fourth-best performance in WVU history.
Freshman Kaylyn Christopher placed third in the 1,000-meter with a personal-best, and WVU fourth-fastest time of 2:47.51.
Marie-Louise Asselin finished third in the 3,000-meter event with a time of 9:22.05, while Karly Hamric took sixth place in the 800-meter run (2:13.13). Asselin’s mark is the fourth-best in WVU history and is a NCAA qualifier.
The 4x800-meter team of Hamric, Christopher, Alison Spiker and Bland placed third in the event (5:51.55). The mark is the second-best in school history, topping an 8:52.44 mark set in 2002.
Next up, the Mountaineers will take part in the NYU Fastrack meet on Feb. 27, in New York, N.Y.