#BIGEASTtrack Minute: BIG EAST Boasts Four Top 10 Finishes On Final Two Days of NCAA Track & Field Championship
EUGENE, Ore. – The final two days of competition at historic Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore., brought four top 10 finishes among five BIG EAST runners at the 2016 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships. The track & field meet welcomed 12,947 fans to watch the most elite collegiate competition.
Friday night featured the men’s outdoor championship finals where the BIG EAST had two top five finishes and a ninth place finish.
In the men’s 5,000-meter run, Villanova senior distance runner Patrick Tiernan medaled with a third place finish time of 13:27.07, his second-fastest career time in the 5K. His race at the NCAA meet marked the second time this season that he has run under 13:30, while his third place finish is three spots higher than his sixth place finish outdoors two years ago on the same track. Tiernan had the lead after the first 1,000-meters. He wound up holding the lead for more than half of the race – better than six full laps around the track – and eventually was part of a three-man leading pack for the final lap. Oregon’s Edward Cheserek took the lead entering the second to last turn and held on for the eventual win. Tiernan’s time approached the Olympics standard in the 5K for the second time this season. He came in fourth in the event at the Australian Athletics Championships in late March, with that meet serving as the country’s Olympics trials. The third place finish by Tiernan is the best finish by a Wildcats runner at the outdoor NCAA Championships since Bobby Curtis won the national title in the 5000 meters in 2008.
Georgetown’s Darren Fahy turned in the third-best performance from a Georgetown runner in the men’s 3,000-meter Steeplechase finals as he clocked in at 8:36.73 for a fifth place finish. Fahy had the third-fastest split over the final lap (1:04.73) as he moved up from the leader of the chase pack over the final 400-meters. Fahy’s performance was the best performance from a Hoya in the event since 1981.
Earlier Friday evening, Wildcat Jordan Williamsz finished ninth in the NCAA finals of the 1,500-meter run with a time of 3:47.61.
On Saturday, the women’s outdoor championship finals closed out the four-day championship with Providence’s Brianna Ilarda in the 3,000-meter Steeplechase and Georgetown’s Katrina Coogan in the 5,000-meter run.
Ilarda opened the night for the BIG EAST with a 10th place finish in the event with a final time of 10:07.80.
Coogan, competed in the field of 24, next to Arkansas’ Dominique Scott who won both the 10,000-meter and 5,000-meter titles. The Hoyas clocked 16:39.66 over the 12.5-lap race to finish 20th overall.
Of the 76 men’s teams who scored points, Villanova finished 36th with six points, Georgetown finished 58th (four points), Butler 76th (one point). Florida won the Men’s NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships with 62 points. On the women’s side, 63 teams scored points. Arkansas won the championship with 72 points.
For the final results from the four-day meet click
here.
Based on the results of the 2016 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, on Monday , June 13 the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) will announce the 2016 All-Americans and honorable mention. The top eight finishes at the finals will be announced as First Team All-Americans, those who finished nine through sixteen at the event will be second team honorees. All those who qualified for the NCAA finals in their event will be declared All-America honorable mention.