After back-to-back meets in North Carolina, the DePaul men's and women's track and field teams remain in the Midwest this weekend for the Mike Poehlein Invitational hosted by Purdue on April 2-3. The hammer throw opens up the competition on Friday at
CHICAGO- After back-to-back meets in North Carolina, the DePaul men's and women's track and field teams remain in the Midwest this weekend for the Mike Poehlein Invitational hosted by Purdue on April 2-3. The hammer throw opens up the competition on Friday at 2 p.m. (CST), while the remaining track and field events take place on Saturday beginning at 9 a.m.
Making her outdoor-season debut on Friday is Virginia MacFabe, who is slated to compete in the hammer throw. Also on the start list are Katelyn MacFabe and Matt Babicz, who have both already qualified for the BIG EAST Conference Championship in the event earlier this season. All three student-athletes will continue on Saturday for the discus throw.
Stephanie Hughes takes on the 10,000m at 10 a.m. Saturday morning. The junior was DePaul's top 10K runner last season, and boasts a career-best time of 37:48.16. Later in the afternoon, Hughes joins Kelsey Dolan for the 5,000m trek.
The Blue Demons had a successful outing last weekend at the Raleigh Relays, tallying eight top-five finishes and three wins. Earlier this week Mary Cate Quiett was named BIG EAST Conference Track Athlete of the Week for her decisive two-second victory in the 800m.
Live results and recaps will be available at www.DePaulBlueDemons.com following each day's competition.
Following the Mike Poehlein Invitational, the Blue Demons split forces, sending student-athletes to both the Sun Angel Track Classic and the Chicagoland Championship on April 9-10.
BIG EAST Track Athlete of the Week
Mary Cate Quiett of the DePaul women's track and field team was named BIG EAST Track Athlete of the Week following back-to-back wins in the 800m at both the 49er Classic and the adidas Raleigh Relays. At the season opener, Quiett dominated the race in a DePaul record time of 2:06.87; a time that currently ranks as the fifth-fastest time amongst all Division I NCAA student-athletes.
National Contenders
Mary Cate Quiett, Melissa Fraser, Alanna Kovacs and Brad Millar all rank within the top-10 nationally in their respective events. In the 800m Quiett ranks fifth, while Fraser and Kovacs sit at No. 8 and 9 in the javelin rankings. Millar currently boasts the ninth best hammer throw of the season, while Tim Nedow ranks just outside the top-10 in the shot put, sitting at No. 11.
Hammer TIme
Melissa Fraser now owns half of DePaul's outdoor throwing records, after launching a hammer throw of 55.54m at the 49er Classic. The throw dethroned two-time Most Outstanding Performer Jamie Holifield as the hammer throw record holder. Fraser also holds the all-time best in the javelin; a record she set during her freshman campaign.
New Season, New Rules
The NCAA will no longer be using a set a qualification standards to determine the field of regional and national championship participants this season. Instead, a student-athlete must rank in the top-48 within their region to earn a bid. In relay events, only the top 24 per region receive the invite to the National First Round. In lieu of the four regional meets used in the past, two sites, one in Austin, Texas, the other in Greensboro, N.C., will serve as the venue for two opening preliminary rounds. The top 12 from each site advance to the National Semifinal the following weekend in Eugene, Oregon.
15 Kids and Counting...
15 Blue Demon student-athletes have eclipsed the BIG EAST standard in 17 events thus far including Terah Cheatham (3,000m steeplechase), Kelcie Daniels (400m hurdles), Melissa Fraser (hammer throw, javelin), Lindsey Holden (400m), Alanna Kovacs (shot put, discus, javelin), Katelyn MacFabe (hammer throw), Mary Cate Quiett (400m, 800m), Matt Babicz (discus, shot put), Matthew Graham (3,000m steeplechase), Chris Kyles (100m), Brad Millar (hammer throw), Tim Nedow (discus, shot put), Joe Strawder (long jump, triple jump), Tonderai Tomu (200m, 400m), and Tim Vala (discus).
No Halting Holden
Sprinter Lindsey Holden currently ranks No. 2 on the DePaul's all-time 400m performance list. The freshman clocked a blistering time of 55.61 at the Raleigh Relays, approximately half a second shy of Diana Runnels record of 55.02.
New Season, Same Rules
The BIG EAST Conference will continue to use the same qualification system for the league championship. A student-athlete must eclipse a certain mark that has been established by the conference office in order to receive a bid. There are no qualification standards for relays, as each school is allotted one entry per relay event.
Up Next:
The Blue Demons look to divide and conquer next weekend, sending student-athletes to both the Sun Angel Track Classic in Tempe, Ariz., as well as the Chicagoland Championship hosted by the University of Chicago. Competition runs for both evens on April 9-10.
