2008 Woodie Awards
SRU track athletes running hard toward National Championships
Teams look to add PSAC championships
By Nathan Davis
Rocket Contributor
Issue date: 4/25/08 Section: Sports
After winning the conference indoor track title in early March, Slippery Rock's men's and women's track teams now have their sights set on adding another piece of hardware to the trophy case.
Both teams want to add a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference outdoor track championship to their list of accomplishments.
Coach John Papa said he is thrilled with his athletes' performances and believes the team has a chance to win the conference championship even though a few athletes are not 100 percent.
Last year the women's track team came away with both the indoor and outdoor, but the men lost by a heartbreaking three or four points.
This year is going to be much of the same, as Papa expects another nailbiter.
"It's going to come right down to the wire," Papa said. "We're just a breath away from winning it and I keep telling my team we still need to go out there and perform."
Freshman Amanda Seigworth, who competes in the 400-meter hurdles, believes that the team can win the outdoor conference championship if they keep running as well as they have been. Seigworth said the PSAC title meet will be the most important meet of the year and the team is ready for the competition.
"In the heat of the moment, when your adrenaline kicks in, you realize how important the victory is and you are able to run faster," Seigworth said.
A number of SRU's men's and women's track athletes earned provisional berths for their individual events last Saturday at the IUP Invitational. Senior Tim Tray (16 feet 3.25 inches) in pole vaulting, junior Mike Rose (6,433 points) in the decathlon, freshman Whitney Hendershot (5 feet 7 inches) in the high jump, and senior 300-meter steeplechase competitor Raissa Weiss (11:25.80) and freshman 400-meter hurdlers Allison Smith (1:02.30) and Seigworth (1:02.99). Provisionals are qualifying factors that the track and field athletes earn for nomination to go to the NCAA Division II championship.
Smith and Seigworth earned their bids by finishing in first and second place in the Sparky Adams Invitational last Saturday.
Although provisionals set the standards to qualify for NCAA Division II national championships, the athletes still feel they need to improve upon their performances.
"It feels good to qualify for NCAAs, but I need to improve upon my time," Seigworth said.
Juniors Pat Reagan and Jeff Weiss ran in the Puma Collegiate Invitational in Los Angeles California, which was part of the Mount SAC Relays.
Weiss finished in sixth place with a time of 29:42 and earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Division II national championships.
Reagan earned a provisional berth by finishing 12th in the competition with a time of 30:05.
The relays provided Reagan and Weiss with more competition that Papa thought they needed.
The Rock is competing in the Penn Relays, which began yesterday and will run through tomorrow. Results from Thursday's events were unavailable at the time of print.
Both teams want to add a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference outdoor track championship to their list of accomplishments.
Coach John Papa said he is thrilled with his athletes' performances and believes the team has a chance to win the conference championship even though a few athletes are not 100 percent.
Last year the women's track team came away with both the indoor and outdoor, but the men lost by a heartbreaking three or four points.
This year is going to be much of the same, as Papa expects another nailbiter.
"It's going to come right down to the wire," Papa said. "We're just a breath away from winning it and I keep telling my team we still need to go out there and perform."
Freshman Amanda Seigworth, who competes in the 400-meter hurdles, believes that the team can win the outdoor conference championship if they keep running as well as they have been. Seigworth said the PSAC title meet will be the most important meet of the year and the team is ready for the competition.
"In the heat of the moment, when your adrenaline kicks in, you realize how important the victory is and you are able to run faster," Seigworth said.
A number of SRU's men's and women's track athletes earned provisional berths for their individual events last Saturday at the IUP Invitational. Senior Tim Tray (16 feet 3.25 inches) in pole vaulting, junior Mike Rose (6,433 points) in the decathlon, freshman Whitney Hendershot (5 feet 7 inches) in the high jump, and senior 300-meter steeplechase competitor Raissa Weiss (11:25.80) and freshman 400-meter hurdlers Allison Smith (1:02.30) and Seigworth (1:02.99). Provisionals are qualifying factors that the track and field athletes earn for nomination to go to the NCAA Division II championship.
Smith and Seigworth earned their bids by finishing in first and second place in the Sparky Adams Invitational last Saturday.
Although provisionals set the standards to qualify for NCAA Division II national championships, the athletes still feel they need to improve upon their performances.
"It feels good to qualify for NCAAs, but I need to improve upon my time," Seigworth said.
Juniors Pat Reagan and Jeff Weiss ran in the Puma Collegiate Invitational in Los Angeles California, which was part of the Mount SAC Relays.
Weiss finished in sixth place with a time of 29:42 and earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Division II national championships.
Reagan earned a provisional berth by finishing 12th in the competition with a time of 30:05.
The relays provided Reagan and Weiss with more competition that Papa thought they needed.
The Rock is competing in the Penn Relays, which began yesterday and will run through tomorrow. Results from Thursday's events were unavailable at the time of print.
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