May 6, 2007

Results

CINCINNATI - The Xavier University men's and women's track programs walked away from the Atlantic 10 Championship with twelve school records broken. Through very windy conditions the men turned in a ninth place finished while the women claimed 11^th. Highlighting the tournament was the women's 4 x 800-meter relay team, which brought home the new school record and a silver medal in the event.

Sophomores Becky Clark, and Ashley Stick, freshman Bethany Moore, and junior Caitlin Shagena surprised the 4 x 800-meter relay field when they came in second place. The group finished in a time of 9:07.77 shaving 22 seconds off the existing record established at last year's championships. The women's individual times were 2:12, 2:17, 2:19, and 2:18, respectively. 

Clark ran her second fastest time ever in the 5,000-meter run, finishing fourth in a time of 17:30.12.

Junior Amanda Brown headlined the women's 10,000-meter run for the Musketeers. For the third straight she placed in this race, coming in fifth. Brown's time of 37:16.70 cut 70 seconds off of her previous school time, setting a new school record. Also placing in the event was senior Kelly Sraj who took sixth place in a time of 37:48.30, cutting 26 seconds off her previous time, for her final collegiate race. Junior Joanna Gruber's time of 38:56.96 cut 39 seconds off her personal- best and would have placed her fourth at last year's outdoor championships.

Freshman Katie Phillips broke her own school-record in the 100-meter run turning in a time of 13.76.

The women's 4 x 100-meter relay team consisting of junior Cecelia Towns, Phillips, sophomore Kate Wetterau, and freshman Ashley Taite also made school history, finishing the event in 53.47.

Other notable performances came from freshman Kelsey Flaherty in the 3,000-steeplechase and Caitlin Shagena in the 1,500-meter run. Flaherty established a new personal-best time by twelve seconds, finishing in eighth place in a time of 11:34.35. Shagena placed eighth in a new personal-best time of 4:52.02.

The men's squad claimed seven school records at this year's championships. Among those history makers was first year runner Derek LeBlanc who lowered his own school-record time in the 100-meter dash to 11.52.

Sophomore Luke Beuerlein finished fourth in the 3,000-meter steeplechase lowering his personal-best and the school-best time by sixteen seconds at 9:14.96. Sophomore Clinton Womack claimed the school record in the 800-meter race, finishing third in a time of 1:53.62. Womack's third place finish is the highest individual place finish for Xavier ever in track.

Freshman John Schultz and junior Cody Ackerman had impressive finishes of 6^th and 7^th, respectively in the decathlon. Schultz recorded 5303 points while Ackerman turned in 4725. Ackerman also recorded school-best finishes in the discuss and pole vault as part of the decathlon.

The men's 4 x 100-meter relay team of sophomore Jeff Hileman, freshmen LeBlanc, Eric Questel, and sophomore Dan Magness brought back a new school record in a time of 45.70.

Other note worthy performances came from junior Ben Milroy and freshman Drew Kaiser in the 10,000-meter run. Milroy ran the race of his life, finishing sixth in a personal-best time of 31:32.03. Kaiser also had a personal-best finish in a time of 33:01.02.

The 2007 Atlantic 10 Championship was the final event in the career of senior Kelly Sraj. Sraj made important contributions to the Xavier running program specifically as a team captain. The XU athletic department extends its congratulations and appreciation for her dedication in and out of the classroom over the last four years.

Xavier Musketeers Track & Field

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