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March 29, 2007
The Cavalier men’s and women’s track and field teams will split their squads this weekend, sending athletes to both coasts as the `Hoos continue preparations not only for the ACC Outdoor Championships but also the NCAA meet. A handful of athletes, led by school record holder Yemi Ayeni, will compete at the Stanford Invitational in Palo Alto, while school record holder Erin Crawford leads a contingent at the George Mason Spring Classic in Fairfax.
Ayeni, who leads the ACC in the discus with his school-record 190′ 11″, will compete in the Stanford Invitational along with ACC Champions Andy Biladeau, Andrew Dumm, Ryan Foster and Kevin McHale and All-Americans Emily Harrison and Kara Scanlin. One of the top meets in the nation, the Stanford Invitational will feature some of the elite collegiate competitors, setting up the athletes for solid times. Ayeni already ranks seventh in the nation in the discus and has qualified for the NCAA Regional meet in the discus; he stands just one centimeter away from regional qualification in the shot put. McHale, who ran in the NCAA Indoor Championships last month as part of the distance medley team, will look to qualify in the 1500 along with Andrew Jesien. Katie Read, Emily Harrison, Andrew Dumm and Andy Biladeau will run the 10K while Kara Scanlin and Ryan Foster will compete in the 5K while Janine Ricci will compete in the steeple.
Crawford leads a strong group of Cavaliers who will run at the Mason Spring Classic. The school record holder in the 400 hurdles who earned All-American honors in 2006, Crawford ranks second in the conference in that event heading into this weekend. She has already qualified for the NCAA Regional meet, as has school record holder Tomika Ferguson, who ranks third in the ACC in the triple jump. Teammate Ayla Smith is also ranked in the 400IH while and Katie Tershel and Ferguson are ranked in both the triple and long jumps.
While Ayeni competes at Stanford, the women’s throwers, led by Amy Bilmanis, will compete at Mason. Bilmanis ranks in the top-10 in the conference in both the discus and the hammer; the Cavaliers have three women ranked in the top-10 in the javelin, led by NCAA Regional qualifier Meghan Briggs. Virginia’s pole vaulters will also compete in Fairfax; both Kathryn Pettine and David Lewis rank in the top-10 in the conference heading into this weekend.
With some middle distance and distance people attending Stanford, the distance corps will be split as some athletes, including Sara Casscells, will run at Mason. Casscells is one of two conference student-athletes who ranks in the ACC top-10 in both the 800 and the 1500; Susan Brooks is also ranked in the 800 while Huma Husain is ranked the 1500 as well. Virginia’s Reuben Jones is ranked in the top-10 in the conference in the 100 and 200.