Women finish second, men rule 3,000-meter race to claim title
By ANDY TROEGER
Sports Writer
Led by three high finishers in the 3,000 meters, the Irish mens track and field team won its first Big East indoor championship on Sunday, while the womens team finished second to Miami.
After trailing Connecticut by five points following the first day, the men found themselves behind Georgetown by five with four events to go. However in the 3,000 meters, the Irish had three runners finish in the top four, with Luke Watson, Tim Moore and John Keane placing second, third and fourth, respectively. Those finishes were worth 19 points for the Irish. The Irish were able to hold off Connecticut and Washington in the last three events.
In addition to his second-place finish in the 3,000, Watson also won the mile in 4:12.85. Moore and Keane placed first and third, respectively, in the 5,000 meters
Selim Nurudeen finished second in the 60-meter hurdles, falling only .03 seconds short of the title.
The womens team had three individual Big East champions as Jaime Volkmer, Lauren King and Tameisha King posted individual wins, leading the Irish to a second-place finish.
Volkmer won the pole vault with a new career best and Big East meet record of 4.00 meters. Lauren King won the mile by over five seconds in an NCAA-qualifying time of 4:46.90. Tameisha King won her first individual Big East title in the 60-meter hurdles, beating Miami's Sharianne Lawson by .01 seconds. Tameisha King had previously been on two Big East Championship 4x100 meter relay teams.
The womens distance medley team of Lauren King, Tricia Floyd, Megan Johnson and Molly Huddle set a Big East meet record in winning in 11:24.45
Other impressive performances for the women included Huddle's second-place finish in the 3,000 meters and Kymia Love's NCAA-qualifying time in the 400-meter dash. Her time of 54.79 seconds was only .02 seconds out of first. Love also finished fourth in the 60-meter dash. Emily Loomis placed second and qualified for the NCAA Championships in the high jump with a season best of 1.79 meters.
Other top scorers for the mens Big East Championship Team were Kevin Somok in the 1,000 meters, Chris Staron and Ryan Mineburg in the high jump and Ryan Hurd in the 200-meter dash.
All Sports Stories for Monday, February 24, 2003
