2008 Woodie Awards
Outdoor track earns slew of first places in meet
By Jared Ursta
Rocket Assistant Sports Editor
Issue date: 3/30/07 Section: Sports
Fellow freshman Kyle Botten collected a third place finish in the 10,000-meter run with a time of 33:55.4.
The day before that event, some of the members of the Rock competed at the Fred Hardy Invitational in Richmond, Va.
Sophomore Jeff Weiss finished first in the 10,000-meter run with a time of 29:56.3.
He was more than 1.5 seconds ahead of second place finisher Andrew Tomaswick of Pittsburgh.
Weiss' time qualified him for the NCAA Division II Outdoor Nationals. This is the second straight year that Weiss has qualified for the national meet in this event. Last year he finished fourth at nationals.
Even though the Rock performed well, there was a downside to the Hardy Invite.
"It was a beautiful day, but it was just too hot," Papa said. "We were expecting a Slippery Rock type of day for the weather, but it was a typically Southern day of 85 degrees. The heat got to many of the kids, but Weiss had a great performance as well as Holly Whoolery."
For the women, Whoolery, a junior, tallied a first place finish in the 10,000-meter run with a time of 38:12.6.
Just as Weiss did, Whoolery was more than 1.4 seconds faster than second place finisher Nicole Belick from Pittsburgh.
Junior Raissa Weiss finished second in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 11:43.93.
Freshman Jennifer Harpp garnered an 11th place finish in the 5,000-meter run with a time of 19:01.45.
The Rock will be back in action Saturday when the teams split up for the Western Pennsylvania Championships and the Charlotte Invitational in North Carolina.
Papa said there is a reason why every year some of the team goes to North Carolina.
"Since the weather isn't always nice up here we schedule the meet in North Carolina," Papa said. "The top athletes have the warm weather and go up against Division I opponents, and it is a good way to compete against good teams."
Papa said there is one goal for the weekend, and that is getting athletes qualified for meets.
"Some are still looking to qualify for the PSAC championships and for those who have, they are shooting for national standards," Papa said.
The day before that event, some of the members of the Rock competed at the Fred Hardy Invitational in Richmond, Va.
Sophomore Jeff Weiss finished first in the 10,000-meter run with a time of 29:56.3.
He was more than 1.5 seconds ahead of second place finisher Andrew Tomaswick of Pittsburgh.
Weiss' time qualified him for the NCAA Division II Outdoor Nationals. This is the second straight year that Weiss has qualified for the national meet in this event. Last year he finished fourth at nationals.
Even though the Rock performed well, there was a downside to the Hardy Invite.
"It was a beautiful day, but it was just too hot," Papa said. "We were expecting a Slippery Rock type of day for the weather, but it was a typically Southern day of 85 degrees. The heat got to many of the kids, but Weiss had a great performance as well as Holly Whoolery."
For the women, Whoolery, a junior, tallied a first place finish in the 10,000-meter run with a time of 38:12.6.
Just as Weiss did, Whoolery was more than 1.4 seconds faster than second place finisher Nicole Belick from Pittsburgh.
Junior Raissa Weiss finished second in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 11:43.93.
Freshman Jennifer Harpp garnered an 11th place finish in the 5,000-meter run with a time of 19:01.45.
The Rock will be back in action Saturday when the teams split up for the Western Pennsylvania Championships and the Charlotte Invitational in North Carolina.
Papa said there is a reason why every year some of the team goes to North Carolina.
"Since the weather isn't always nice up here we schedule the meet in North Carolina," Papa said. "The top athletes have the warm weather and go up against Division I opponents, and it is a good way to compete against good teams."
Papa said there is one goal for the weekend, and that is getting athletes qualified for meets.
"Some are still looking to qualify for the PSAC championships and for those who have, they are shooting for national standards," Papa said.
Be the first to comment on this story