The 2012 regular season is now officially over and the tapering for our championship season has begun!
During the season I always overlook the fact of how much time our athletes are taking off of their pr's every week, but at the end of our season it always shocks me the amount of progress our teams make. The freshmen have handled the change from 5k to 6k/8k and are now working on mastering their race plans. Our returners have begun breaking through their personal bests and realizing all of the benefits from our summer training programs. We are ready for championships!
We have battled some bumps and bruises along the way, but I am proud to say that all of our varsity athletes will be competing at the NCAC Championships. It takes a tremendous amount of work, hours in the training room, and consistent effort in the dining hall and sleep schedule to do all of the small things right to be at your best come championship time. I am extremely proud of all my my men and women who show up everyday and give me their best, then go home at night and continue that excellence in their classwork. I truly feel like I have the best group of Student-Athletes in the country.
Our season this far has been marked by one of the best series of performances by an athlete ever at Allegheny College. Bobby Over in the 2012 regular season has been a human highlight reel. Never finishing outside of the top 3 at any meet he has competed in has also won half of his races, including our Mid-East Pre-Regional meet where he paced our top 7 athletes through 3000 meters. Bobby's most recent race at Oberlin College was a ground breaking run clocking an outstanding 23:48 for the 8k. Finding an athlete that can average 2:58's per 1k is remarkable and doing it with the humbleness and humility in Bob's personality is a rarity most coaches will never know.
The men's and women's team will be headed to the conference championships in two weekends from now, both eager to reclaim their conference titles and 1st and 2nd team accolades. We have gained some great confidence this season from our meets and workouts and can't wait to head out to Wooster, OH for the NCAC Championships.
Thursday, October 18, 2012
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Athlete Highlight - Bobby Over
Continuing with our "Athlete Highlight Series", hailing from Wadsworth, Ohio, our Captain and All-American Junior Distance Runner, Bobby Over has some things to say about his career and experience here at Allegheny College.
I transferred to Allegheny after spending my freshman year at Heidelberg University in Ohio. Coming in, I was intimidated by the amount of talent that the team possessed. My first semester here was the spring of 2011 and I was given the opportunity of having one semester with the most talented class of distance runners this program has seen. While almost all of them were vastly faster than me and had the achievements to prove it, they welcomed me with open arms once I got on campus. It was this willingness to accept me, which showed the best quality about the track and cross country program at Allegheny. This program is not made up of just athletes coming together for practices every day. To be a member of the team is to be a member of the family. Teammates here will spend almost every waking minute together because of the bond that the team has developed. Whether it be a movie night at the cross house, studying in the library, or eating meals together at Brooks, your teammates will know everything that goes on in your life because they truly care. When I got on campus, it was a fresh start for me and I felt like a freshman again, but this fresh start was eased by the seniors who took me under their wings and showed me the way. If you believe in the training and trust in your teammates, the results will come.
The best moment that I have had while attending Allegheny was when the cross country team qualified to nationals this fall. We were a young team, with four runners from varsity never experiencing a national meet, but like the seniors before us, we showed them the way and achieved what we had set out to do. Allegheny is a team built on traditions and after concluding my first year in a gator uniform, I can proudly say that I look forward to continuing the traditions that got this program to where it is today.
Bobby will be competing this weekend in the 3000m Steeple Chase at the NCAA DIII National Championships in Claremont, CA.
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| Cross Country All-American, Bobby Over |
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| Over is currently ranked 6th in the Nation in the 3K Steeple Chase |
Bobby will be competing this weekend in the 3000m Steeple Chase at the NCAA DIII National Championships in Claremont, CA.
Monday, May 7, 2012
NCAC Outdoor Championships
This past weekend Allegheny College hosted the North Coast Athletic Conference Championships at the Robertson Athletic Complex in Meadville, PA. Despite the fact that we had a few rain delays on the first day, the meet ran smoothly and we had a lot of awesome performances.
Sophomore Zach Hill finished fifth overall to pace the Gators' contingent at the North Coast Athletic Conference Multi-Event Championships, while providing the Gators with their first points of the 2012 NCAC Men's Outdoor Track & Field Championships last weekend at Ohio Wesleyan University. Hill delivered some strong performances during the two-day competition, including second in the long jump (20'9.25”), third in the high jump (5'8”), third in the 400m (53.19) and fourth in the 100m (11.72). Hill totaled 5,326 points while closing just outside All-Conference contention. Freshman Nathan Taggart finished 10th in the decathlon. His best efforts of the weekend included fourth-place finishes in the 110m hurdles (17.11) and high jump (5'7”).
Senior Patrick McLaughlin capped a solid first day for the Gators at the 2012 NCAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships with a third-place finish in the 10,000-meter run. McLaughlin's performance netted the first All-Conference honor for the Blue and Gold this weekend. McLaughlin split 31:33 and settled for third despite leading for a majority of the race. Allegheny's senior distance standout did most of the work up front, but was still able to produce a strong time in a very strategic race.
The 10k offered the only finals event on the track on Friday, although the Gators authored a few more personal records with surprising results in the field events. Despite nursing a lower leg injury for most of the campaign, sophomore Zach Hill jumped a career-best 21'1.5” en route to fourth in the individual standings. Sophomore Sean Danaher finished sixth in the discus with a throw of 125'8.”
Allegheny's best prelim efforts came from senior Taylor Throckmorton, who set another PR with a time of 22.17 while closing third in the 200m. He also coasted to finals in the 400m with a time of 50.07. Gators received good performances from Sarah Moss and Dominque Billingslea on the women's side. Moss finished third in the 100-meter hurdles (16.03) and sixth in the quarter (1:01.25), while Billingslea closed with the fifth-best time in the 100m (12.95) and scooped up the final qualifying spot in the 200m (26.94).
Senior Lauren Butler took first place in the shot put to fuel Allegheny on the opening day of the 2012 NCAC Track & Field Championships. Butler, who has dominated the indoor circuit throughout her career, finally secured her first outdoor league title in the shot. Butler tossed 40'4.25” to sack the event championship, while she also finished seventh in the discus. Senior teammate Kristin Collins finished sixth in the discus and seventh in the shot.
Allegheny men's track & field received a bevy of great individual efforts as the team closed out the two-day North Coast Athletic Conference Outdoor Championships with a fourth-place finish in the team standings. The Gators carved out a number of personal records, while three athletes copped All-Conference honors during the final day of competition.
Competing in his last conference meet, senior Taylor Throckmorton turned in a pair of outstanding performances to pace the Allegheny brigade. Throckmorton set personal records in both the 200 and 400-meter runs, despite limited recovery time between events. In the quarter, Throckmorton finished second overall to Ohio Wesleyan's Silas Jolliff, but still managed to smash the school record with an impressive time of 48.32. Approximately 35 minutes later, Throckmorton finished fourth in the 200m, although his final time of 22.06 was blazing and marked the third-fastest time in Allegheny history.
Bobby Over orchestrated a pair of runner-up finishes in the steeplechase and 5,000m. Over was trumped by Wabash's Kevin McCarthy in the steeple, although he completed the 3,000-meter circuit in an incredibly solid 9:06.88. Over rebounded a few hours later and dropped another second-place effort in the 5k with a time of 15:11 in what turned out to be a very tactical race.
While Throckmorton and Over continued to carry the Blue and Gold, sophomore Cameron Day authored one of the most surprisingly strong performances of the day with a second-place finish in the javelin. Earning his first career All-Conference citation, Day's best toss covered 186'6” and served as the fifth-best throw in Allegheny lore.
Although they finished outside of the All-Conference picture, the team received a pair of good marks from Jacob Seigh and Pat McLaughlin. Seigh finished seventh in the triple jump with a season best leap of 41'1”, while McLaughlin followed up Friday night's All-Conference run in the 10k with a fifth-place finish in the 5,000m (15:27.29).
Led by Lauren Butler, who was named North Coast Athletic Conference Field Athlete of the Year for the fourth time, Allegheny women's track & field enjoyed an impressive last day at the NCAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships en route to fifth place in the team standings.
Butler led a tremendous effort by the Gators in the javelin. Tossing a personal record 141'0”, Butler captured her second event title of the weekend while manufacturing the fifth-best throw in the country this season.
Sophomore Claire DeLucia also delivered a fantastic performance. Setting a personal record with a distance of 112'10”, DeLucia earned All-Conference accolades with a third-place finish. Sophomore Taylor Endress finished fifth overall in the event with a toss of 111'10” to cap an impressive Allegheny contingent.
The Gators replicated the strong results in the hammer as three athletes finished in the top six. Tova Feinberg led the way with a runner-up finish that resulted in the second-best throw in team history. Feinberg (142'10”) closed just ahead of senior Kristin Collins, who threw 142'3” en route to third. Both competitors earned All-Conference plaudits, while Butler added more fuel to the Gators' attack with a personal-record throw of 135'0”.
Sophomore Sarah Moss finished in a tie for sixth in the high jump (4'11.75”), but her best event of the day was the 100-meter hurdles. Moss finished second overall in finals with the third-fastest time in team history after crossing the line in 15.71.
Other scorers for the Gators included Kristina Martin, who finished fourth in the steeplechase (11:56.71), Ashley Krause, who closed fifth in the long jump (33'4.5”), Kelly Gallagher, who crossed the line sixth in the 5,000m (18:29.88), and Dominique Billingslea, who finished sixth in both the 100m (12.91) and 200m (26.96).
Click this link to see some pictures from the weekend:
http://static.cnhi.zope.net/flashpromo/meadvilletribune/flashpromo/video/actrack/index.html
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| Nathan Taggart |
Senior Patrick McLaughlin capped a solid first day for the Gators at the 2012 NCAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships with a third-place finish in the 10,000-meter run. McLaughlin's performance netted the first All-Conference honor for the Blue and Gold this weekend. McLaughlin split 31:33 and settled for third despite leading for a majority of the race. Allegheny's senior distance standout did most of the work up front, but was still able to produce a strong time in a very strategic race.
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| Zach Hill |
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| Taylor Throckmorton |
Allegheny's best prelim efforts came from senior Taylor Throckmorton, who set another PR with a time of 22.17 while closing third in the 200m. He also coasted to finals in the 400m with a time of 50.07. Gators received good performances from Sarah Moss and Dominque Billingslea on the women's side. Moss finished third in the 100-meter hurdles (16.03) and sixth in the quarter (1:01.25), while Billingslea closed with the fifth-best time in the 100m (12.95) and scooped up the final qualifying spot in the 200m (26.94).
Senior Lauren Butler took first place in the shot put to fuel Allegheny on the opening day of the 2012 NCAC Track & Field Championships. Butler, who has dominated the indoor circuit throughout her career, finally secured her first outdoor league title in the shot. Butler tossed 40'4.25” to sack the event championship, while she also finished seventh in the discus. Senior teammate Kristin Collins finished sixth in the discus and seventh in the shot.
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| Dominique Billingslea |
Competing in his last conference meet, senior Taylor Throckmorton turned in a pair of outstanding performances to pace the Allegheny brigade. Throckmorton set personal records in both the 200 and 400-meter runs, despite limited recovery time between events. In the quarter, Throckmorton finished second overall to Ohio Wesleyan's Silas Jolliff, but still managed to smash the school record with an impressive time of 48.32. Approximately 35 minutes later, Throckmorton finished fourth in the 200m, although his final time of 22.06 was blazing and marked the third-fastest time in Allegheny history.
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| Bobby Over |
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| Cameron Day |
Although they finished outside of the All-Conference picture, the team received a pair of good marks from Jacob Seigh and Pat McLaughlin. Seigh finished seventh in the triple jump with a season best leap of 41'1”, while McLaughlin followed up Friday night's All-Conference run in the 10k with a fifth-place finish in the 5,000m (15:27.29).
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| Lauren Butler |
Butler led a tremendous effort by the Gators in the javelin. Tossing a personal record 141'0”, Butler captured her second event title of the weekend while manufacturing the fifth-best throw in the country this season.
Sophomore Claire DeLucia also delivered a fantastic performance. Setting a personal record with a distance of 112'10”, DeLucia earned All-Conference accolades with a third-place finish. Sophomore Taylor Endress finished fifth overall in the event with a toss of 111'10” to cap an impressive Allegheny contingent.
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| Claire DeLucia |
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| Sarah Moss |
Other scorers for the Gators included Kristina Martin, who finished fourth in the steeplechase (11:56.71), Ashley Krause, who closed fifth in the long jump (33'4.5”), Kelly Gallagher, who crossed the line sixth in the 5,000m (18:29.88), and Dominique Billingslea, who finished sixth in both the 100m (12.91) and 200m (26.96).
Click this link to see some pictures from the weekend:
http://static.cnhi.zope.net/flashpromo/meadvilletribune/flashpromo/video/actrack/index.html
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Bucknell Bison Classic
Each year the team travels to Lewisburg, Pennsylvania to compete in the Bucknell Bison Outdoor track and field meet. With each trip, there is never a lack of impressive performances, and this year was no different for the Gators.
On day one of the two day meet, junior captain, Bobby Over, led the gators on the track running the 3,000m steeple chase Saturday evening. Over ran a time of 9:03.82, recording the fastest time in the nation for Division III midway through the season. His impressive performance placed him as the top performer the event in school history, beating the previous record by an incredible twelve seconds.
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| Tom DeAscentis and Jack Denison |
On day one in the field, senior captain Lauren Butler and sophomores Taylor Endress and Cameron Day competed in the strongest field they have seen in the javelin so far this season. On the men’s side, Day had an outstanding series finishing in twelfth overall and second among Division III competitors with a throw of 176’. On the women’s side, Endress rounded out the first flight of the javelin with a throw of 119’10”, a tremendous personal best which also places her second in the NCAC. Butler made finals and placed first overall amongst Division III and eighth within all divisions with a throw of 137’.
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| Senior Kristin Collins |
Continuing the strong performances on the track senior captain Taylor Throckmorton competed in the 400m dash sprinting his way to a ninth place overall title with a season best time of 49.17.
Rounding up day two for the Gators was freshman Ashley Krause in the triple jump. Not wanting to be left out of the success at her first Bison Classic, Krause jumped 10.38m, which was only 4cm off of her personal best.
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Athlete Highlight (Lauren Butler)
Continuing with our "Athlete Highlight Series", hailing from New Kensington, PA, our 2-Time All-American Senior Thrower, Lauren Butler has some things to say about her four years being an Allegheny College Track & Field Student-Athlete.
Most people will walk into their first practice freshman year, wide eyed and unsure of what their experiences are going to be on the track or in the field. Unsure if they are ready for that first workout. Unsure of whether they will fit in with their teammates, unsure if their coaches will like them, and unsure if they will fail or succeed. Then they arrive, they meet people they may have never talked to before, they spend five hours a day with them in practice, at dinner, at meets, game nights, and they begin to form bonds. Your teammates are now your family away from home.
They are the people you can rely on to be there for you even when the season is at its worst. They become your blankets when huddling together outside in the freezing cold between events. They become your best friends, and they become your competitors. They become the people who care about you most on campus, on and off the field. They become the people that after you graduate, you are going to miss the most. That is what it has meant to be a track athlete on the team at Allegheny College.
As I am almost at a half way mark in my final outdoor season, it is only appropriate to reflect on my time as a Gator. I have been blessed to be a two-time All-American in the javelin, four-time indoor shot put conference champion, three-time indoor field athlete of the year, and three-time outdoor javelin champion with hopefully a fourth to come soon. I have been so grateful to be able to travel to and participate in the Division III outdoor track and field meet four years in a row. These are accomplishments that I can walk away from after this season is over holding my head high.
I am so grateful to be surrounded by coaches and teammates who genuinely care, letting you know that even if you have a bad meet, you can bounce right back the next week and get a personal record. It only takes one jump, one throw, or one great time. It has been a pleasure watching the underclassmen come in just hoping to make it through, and end up surprising themselves when they perform better than they ever thought they could. Each person is working hard and wants to get better, which strengthens the team environment. The talent is there, this team is full of it, and it has been so much fun to watch others find what they will succeed, or possibly already succeeding at.
The best thing I can tell you all is that I am leaving here sure; more sure than I ever could have imagined when I first got here. I am sure that I can jump into a workout at the next practice and make it through. I am sure about the positive experiences I have had here. I am sure of the awesome opportunities to be successful that the coaching staff can provide. I am proud to say that I have had more moments of success than failure, and I owe it to the environment that the team provides. I have built great and lasting relationships with my teammates and my coaches. No matter where our lives take us after we leave Allegheny, the people on the track team will always remain my family. The bond we have shared will forever tie us to this college, to this athletic program with tremendous history and tradition we all have been lucky to be a part of.
Lauren M. Butler (12’)
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| Four-Time Indoor Shot Put NCAC Champ |
They are the people you can rely on to be there for you even when the season is at its worst. They become your blankets when huddling together outside in the freezing cold between events. They become your best friends, and they become your competitors. They become the people who care about you most on campus, on and off the field. They become the people that after you graduate, you are going to miss the most. That is what it has meant to be a track athlete on the team at Allegheny College.
As I am almost at a half way mark in my final outdoor season, it is only appropriate to reflect on my time as a Gator. I have been blessed to be a two-time All-American in the javelin, four-time indoor shot put conference champion, three-time indoor field athlete of the year, and three-time outdoor javelin champion with hopefully a fourth to come soon. I have been so grateful to be able to travel to and participate in the Division III outdoor track and field meet four years in a row. These are accomplishments that I can walk away from after this season is over holding my head high.
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| Two-Time All-American in the Javelin |
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| Lauren Throwing the Weight |
Lauren M. Butler (12’)
Monday, April 9, 2012
NCAC Indoor Championships
A trio of competitors kicked off the 2012 NCAC Indoor Track & Field Championships for Allegheny as this year's iteration of the indoor conference meet began a week before the rest of the meet with the heptathlon. Hill finished third in the 60-meter dash with a time of 7.36 to spark a strong start for the Blue and Gold. Taggart split 7.69 in a tightly-contested fourth heat while finishing 11th overall in the event. Ordines capped the opening event with a time of 8.15.
Hill followed up the good start with a fourth-place finish in the long jump (20'4.25”) while delivering his best leap on his last attempt. Taggart's top effort covered a distance of 19'9” to place seventh and Ordines finished 11th with a jump of 18'3.25”. Ordines made a move for the Gators in the shot put, pacing Allegheny's contingent with a fifth-place throw of 32'8.5”. Taggart (30'4.75”) and Hill (29'8.25”) finished 12th and 13th, respectively, but less than one hundred points was lost in their chase of the lead pack.
The opening day of the heptathlon championship concluded with the high jump. Allegheny flexed its muscle in the event by placing all three competitors in the top six, including a tie for first by Taggart, who cleared a meet-best 6'2” on his first attempt. Ordines jumped 5'10.5” on his last attempt to secure third overall, while Hill closed in sixth after clearing 5'7”.
Zach Hill finished fifth overall in the two-day heptathlon. Hill entered the day sixth in the individual standings, but moved up the rankings with a fourth-place finish in the last event of the competition. The first-year team member ran 2:52.71 in the 1,000-meter run to orchestrate a 350-point swing against OWU's Erik Wall. He also finished eighth in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 9.58 and 10th in the pole vault with a clear of 9'7.25”. Hill finished with a personal-record total of 4,062. Although they were kept out of the scoring, rookies Nathan Taggart and Taylor Ordines also pieced together solid first-time efforts in the seven-event competition.
Taggart opened the day with a fourth-place finish in the hurdles, shooting out of the blocks en route to a personal-record of 9.12. Taggart was unable to maintain the strong start through the final two events while falling to ninth overall with a score of 3,893. Ordines finished 13th in the competition with a total of 3,534. He closed 10th overall in both the hurdles and pole vault.
Senior Lauren Butler and junior Bobby Over captured individual titles at the 2012 NCAC Indoor Track & Field Championships, sparking a strong performance for the Gators on the first day of the meet. Butler delivered a pedestrian performance in the shot put, but only needed her first throw to distinguish herself from the field. Winning the shot with a mark of 40'4.75”, Butler etched her name into the annals of NCAC lore by winning the event for the fourth consecutive season. She is currently ranked 17th in the nation in the event as she looks to make a repeat trip to the NCAA Championships.
Junior distance standout Bobby Over fueled the men's team on Friday after breaking the tape in a tightly-contested 5,000-meter run. The pace was unsurprisingly slow at the start of the race, while Over asserted himself in the lead pack from the opening gun. Holding off a strong charge by Wabash senior Brian David, Over finished the race in 15:13.62 en route to his first league crown. The Gators picked up 15 points in the 5k as senior Patrick McLaughlin finished sixth and junior Kevin Edwards was awarded seventh. The Allegheny tandem produced the exact same time (15:24.93), while finishing two one-hundredths of a second behind DePauw's Noah Droody.
Freshman Ashley Krause gave the women's unit an unexpected boost with a second-place effort in the triple jump. Krause's last attempt of 33'7.25” fell just short of conference gold, but served as the Gators' first points of the 2012 Championship.
On the men's side, a pair of solid performances triggered more points in the team race. It took all six jumps for rookie Taylor Ordines to manufacture a personal best, but his final leap of the competition covered 41'5.75” and resulted in a fifth-place finish. Zach Hill jumped two seeds en route to sixth in the triple jump. His last two jumps were both strong as he delivered a PR of 40'9.75”.
Sophomore Kristina Martin finished seventh overall in the 5,000m with a time of 18:40.89 while freshman Andy Sharfman finished just outside of the scoring in 18:58.59.
Senior Taylor Throckmorton cruised to a victory in the prelims of the men's 400m, splitting 50.15 to produce the second-fastest time during the qualifying rounds. Throck also coasted in the prelims of the 200m, piecing together the fourth-fastest performance of the day with a time of 22.81.
Sophomore Sarah Moss earned All-Conference honors in three different events to lead Allegheny at the 2012 NCAC Indoor Track & Field Championships. Senior Lauren Butler was Named NCAC Field Athlete of the Year for the third consecutive campaign.
Moss began her day with a third-place finish in the high jump (4'11”), but her effort on the track was more impressive. After logging a personal best in the 60-meter hurdles to snag the final spot during Friday's prelims, Moss delivered a fantastic result in the championship final after finishing third with a time of 9.70. She capped her break-out day by closing second overall in the 400m behind another new personal best (1:00.65).
Outside of Moss, the Gators received the rest of their firepower in the weight. Senior Lauren Butler, who made conference history on Friday by winning her fourth consecutive shot put title, finished second in the weight with a throw of 44'4”. Although Butler paced Allegheny's throwing contingent, freshman Alexa Mochan provided the meet's biggest surprise. Mochan unleashed an enormous personal best while grabbing a surprising third in the weight with a mark of 43'4.25.” The result marked the fourth-best performance ever in the event by an Allegheny athlete. Tova Feinberg also picked up a point for the Blue and Gold after finishing eighth in the event with a toss of 41'0.5”.
Senior Taylor Throckmorton set the conference record in the 400-meter dash to lead a strong performance by Allegheny on the last day of the NCAC Indoor Championships. Throckmorton was named NCAC Sprinter/Hurdler of the Year and the Gators finished third overall. Taylor split 49.32 in the open quarter, holding off Ohio Wesleyan's Ethan Freet (49.59) in a fantastic finish en route to his first individual league crown . Both competitors eclipsed one of the conference's oldest records which had stood since 1999. Throckmorton settled for runner-up honors in the 200m in another tight final. Silas Jolliff broke the tape with a time of 22.42, while Throckmorton finished just back in 22.47. Taylor also anchored Allegheny's fourth-place 4x400-meter relay, which included Zach Hill, Mike Vlah, and Asher Sells running to a time of 3:31.02. He finished a great all-around day with a fourth-place finish in the long jump (20'10.75”) and extended his career All-Conference total to 13 honors.
Bobby Over emerged out a congested 5,000-meter final on Friday with his first league title and pieced together another strong effort in the 3,000m on Saturday. Denison All-American Makorodondo Salukombo made up for a second-place finish in the mile to pull away from Over late in a race that featured on the meet's deepest fields. Salukombo knocked Allegheny's Ryan Place from the league records books after splitting 8:33.45 while Over finished second for the Gators in 8:39.63. Although they finished outside of the scoring, Kevin Edwards (8:59.73) and Patrick McLaughlin (9:00.31) battled hard as well.
The 3k wasn't the only event on Saturday to eliminate a former Gator from the top of the league's all-time charts. Tony Dipre's 2010 record in the mile fell as Wabash's Kevin McCarthy blasted away from the pack en route to a time of 4:10.46. Junior Mike Vlah established an indoor PR with a clip of 4:20.76 to finish eighth in the race.
Other notable performances came from rookie Nathan Taggart, who finished sixth in the high jump (5'10.75”) and freshman Michael Petro, who finished ninth overall in the weight behind a huge personal best (41'1.5”).
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| Zach Hill |
The opening day of the heptathlon championship concluded with the high jump. Allegheny flexed its muscle in the event by placing all three competitors in the top six, including a tie for first by Taggart, who cleared a meet-best 6'2” on his first attempt. Ordines jumped 5'10.5” on his last attempt to secure third overall, while Hill closed in sixth after clearing 5'7”.
Zach Hill finished fifth overall in the two-day heptathlon. Hill entered the day sixth in the individual standings, but moved up the rankings with a fourth-place finish in the last event of the competition. The first-year team member ran 2:52.71 in the 1,000-meter run to orchestrate a 350-point swing against OWU's Erik Wall. He also finished eighth in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 9.58 and 10th in the pole vault with a clear of 9'7.25”. Hill finished with a personal-record total of 4,062. Although they were kept out of the scoring, rookies Nathan Taggart and Taylor Ordines also pieced together solid first-time efforts in the seven-event competition.
Taggart opened the day with a fourth-place finish in the hurdles, shooting out of the blocks en route to a personal-record of 9.12. Taggart was unable to maintain the strong start through the final two events while falling to ninth overall with a score of 3,893. Ordines finished 13th in the competition with a total of 3,534. He closed 10th overall in both the hurdles and pole vault.
Senior Lauren Butler and junior Bobby Over captured individual titles at the 2012 NCAC Indoor Track & Field Championships, sparking a strong performance for the Gators on the first day of the meet. Butler delivered a pedestrian performance in the shot put, but only needed her first throw to distinguish herself from the field. Winning the shot with a mark of 40'4.75”, Butler etched her name into the annals of NCAC lore by winning the event for the fourth consecutive season. She is currently ranked 17th in the nation in the event as she looks to make a repeat trip to the NCAA Championships.
Junior distance standout Bobby Over fueled the men's team on Friday after breaking the tape in a tightly-contested 5,000-meter run. The pace was unsurprisingly slow at the start of the race, while Over asserted himself in the lead pack from the opening gun. Holding off a strong charge by Wabash senior Brian David, Over finished the race in 15:13.62 en route to his first league crown. The Gators picked up 15 points in the 5k as senior Patrick McLaughlin finished sixth and junior Kevin Edwards was awarded seventh. The Allegheny tandem produced the exact same time (15:24.93), while finishing two one-hundredths of a second behind DePauw's Noah Droody.
Freshman Ashley Krause gave the women's unit an unexpected boost with a second-place effort in the triple jump. Krause's last attempt of 33'7.25” fell just short of conference gold, but served as the Gators' first points of the 2012 Championship.
On the men's side, a pair of solid performances triggered more points in the team race. It took all six jumps for rookie Taylor Ordines to manufacture a personal best, but his final leap of the competition covered 41'5.75” and resulted in a fifth-place finish. Zach Hill jumped two seeds en route to sixth in the triple jump. His last two jumps were both strong as he delivered a PR of 40'9.75”.
Sophomore Kristina Martin finished seventh overall in the 5,000m with a time of 18:40.89 while freshman Andy Sharfman finished just outside of the scoring in 18:58.59.
Senior Taylor Throckmorton cruised to a victory in the prelims of the men's 400m, splitting 50.15 to produce the second-fastest time during the qualifying rounds. Throck also coasted in the prelims of the 200m, piecing together the fourth-fastest performance of the day with a time of 22.81.
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| Sarah Moss |
Moss began her day with a third-place finish in the high jump (4'11”), but her effort on the track was more impressive. After logging a personal best in the 60-meter hurdles to snag the final spot during Friday's prelims, Moss delivered a fantastic result in the championship final after finishing third with a time of 9.70. She capped her break-out day by closing second overall in the 400m behind another new personal best (1:00.65).
Outside of Moss, the Gators received the rest of their firepower in the weight. Senior Lauren Butler, who made conference history on Friday by winning her fourth consecutive shot put title, finished second in the weight with a throw of 44'4”. Although Butler paced Allegheny's throwing contingent, freshman Alexa Mochan provided the meet's biggest surprise. Mochan unleashed an enormous personal best while grabbing a surprising third in the weight with a mark of 43'4.25.” The result marked the fourth-best performance ever in the event by an Allegheny athlete. Tova Feinberg also picked up a point for the Blue and Gold after finishing eighth in the event with a toss of 41'0.5”.
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| Lauren Butler and Taylor Throckmorton |
Senior Taylor Throckmorton set the conference record in the 400-meter dash to lead a strong performance by Allegheny on the last day of the NCAC Indoor Championships. Throckmorton was named NCAC Sprinter/Hurdler of the Year and the Gators finished third overall. Taylor split 49.32 in the open quarter, holding off Ohio Wesleyan's Ethan Freet (49.59) in a fantastic finish en route to his first individual league crown . Both competitors eclipsed one of the conference's oldest records which had stood since 1999. Throckmorton settled for runner-up honors in the 200m in another tight final. Silas Jolliff broke the tape with a time of 22.42, while Throckmorton finished just back in 22.47. Taylor also anchored Allegheny's fourth-place 4x400-meter relay, which included Zach Hill, Mike Vlah, and Asher Sells running to a time of 3:31.02. He finished a great all-around day with a fourth-place finish in the long jump (20'10.75”) and extended his career All-Conference total to 13 honors.
Bobby Over emerged out a congested 5,000-meter final on Friday with his first league title and pieced together another strong effort in the 3,000m on Saturday. Denison All-American Makorodondo Salukombo made up for a second-place finish in the mile to pull away from Over late in a race that featured on the meet's deepest fields. Salukombo knocked Allegheny's Ryan Place from the league records books after splitting 8:33.45 while Over finished second for the Gators in 8:39.63. Although they finished outside of the scoring, Kevin Edwards (8:59.73) and Patrick McLaughlin (9:00.31) battled hard as well.
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| Michael Petro |
Other notable performances came from rookie Nathan Taggart, who finished sixth in the high jump (5'10.75”) and freshman Michael Petro, who finished ninth overall in the weight behind a huge personal best (41'1.5”).
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Freshman Perspective (Ashley Krause)
It has been awhile since our last post for the ACTF/XC blog and I thought it would be nice for one of our freshmen standouts Ashley Krause to write a post on how her year has been so far. So, hailing from Mars Area, PA, our All-Conference Triple Jumper.
Being a freshman in college, I thought that college track was going to be so much harder than high school track, and that it would consume all of my time here on campus. While yes, the practices are harder, it is also a very rewarding feeling once you have a meet and realize that your times are dropping, your jump distances are increasing, or your throws are going farther. Coming into the track season this year, I knew I wanted to long jump and sprint. However, at our Indoor Championships, my coaches entered me into triple jump which I have not done in two years. I was glad they did this because I ended up placing second in the meet. Throughout practices, sometimes I feel like I might not be able to finish them on my own. But Dominique Billingslea is always right there by my side keeping my spirits up and allowing me to gain that energy I need to finish. She had competed this weekend at Washington and Jefferson, achieving a personal record in the 400 m dash with a time of 63.45 s, finishing with a third place overall. Sarah Moss also had a great day at Washington and Jefferson, where she had tied for first place with a height of 5'4.25. Everyone is so encouraging on this team towards each other, during practices and at meets. I love being part of a team where they're not just your teammates, they're family.
Friday, January 6, 2012
National Championship and 2011 Season Wrap Up
Men’s Team
What an amazing season we had in 2011. Our team largely operated
as a dark horse for most of the season proving at each meet that we belonged at
the national championship in Oshkosh, WI. With great leadership from our upperclassmen,
key transfer students bolstering our roster, and some outstanding performances
from freshmen and developing underclassmen we are continuing the excellent
tradition that has been made here for our men’s team.
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| Senior Pat McLaughlin |
It makes me feel good as a coach to know that our team can
foster growth in its freshman enough so that they can earn their spots at the
national meet. I was surprised as any to find two freshmen in the top seven who
made a staggering amount of progress in one season in large part due to the
competitive nature of the team and our leaders on it. These men are perfect
examples of “putting the hard work in and getting great results out.”
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| All-American Bobby Over |
The last group of the nationals crew, Mike Vlah and Jack
Denison, played such a crucial part of our squad almost every single race we
have been in during 2011. As the 4 and 5 man for most of the season a ton of
pressure was added to these guys and they have all the respect in the world
from me for it. It is not easy to ask a guy who has improved his time by almost
two and a half minuets to race faster than he ever has at each meet but we did
from Jack. He handled the pressure about as well as anyone could have and
finished his season with his second best race at 8k ever.
As happy as I was about our top 7 guys achieving a 24th
place finish at the National Championship this I was equally encouraged by the
men that didn’t have the opportunity to run at the meet. Seniors Jack Conant
and Greg Eyer fought tooth and nail at every meet to be in the top 7 and I
credit their efforts to helping our freshmen progress and making our 5-7 men
tougher. A staggering amount of progress was made this year by returning men
Tom DeAcentis, Evan Breitsch, and Lance Claflin. You guys are playing an
important role in the future success of ACXC. I am looking forward to seeing
all of you battle next year for top 7 spots. In almost every season the injury/illness
bug bites some people and our few guys Don, Brennan, and Ray pulled the short
straw this year. However, unlike most people who would just throw their season
away each of these guys battled their very best to comeback. Pool workouts,
relentless months of boring easy runs, slow intervals, and having to rest are
all things straight out of an endurance athlete’s nightmare, and each of these
guys made it though becoming better for it and some gaining knowledge of how to
best approach a season in the future.
I just want to thank all of you guys for an incredible
season this year. It is seasons like these that fuel me to become a better
coach and make me love the sport even more. I am looking forward to the 2012
season and many more Wing Nights.
Women’s Team
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| Kristina Martin |
It was a fantastic year for dominating performances and
story book comebacks. Kristina Martin, you killed it all year! It would be
tough to find another sophomore with a consistent dominating year as you have
had in 2011. Your incredible work ethic and strength are going to continue
being your best assets as we get you to the NCAA Track Championships this Spring.
Fantastic job making to XC NCAA’s and competing in your first national race.
While you may not have gotten the results you wanted I can assure you that you
will never forget your first shot at the big show!
Kelly and Suzanna your comebacks are inspirational. I know
being hit with the injury/illness bug is the worst thing that can happen to you
during a season but you made me proud to be your coach the way you to made it
back for the post season. All of the pool workouts were worth it ladies.
Congrats Kelly on your best finish at the NCAA Regional meet in your career!
You leadership was invaluable this year. Way to show the ladies that hard work
pays off.
The freshmen crew! Alex, Andy, and Marissa: Thank you so
much for infecting this team with laughter and your hard efforts this Fall. You
guys made each day enjoyable and your performances this year were awesome. You
are going to help bring this team back to the NCAA meet! With ladies like you
our future is looking great.
Our lone senior Amber Wetzel: You will be extremely missed.
My biggest regret of the season will be not being able to convince you to run
Track in the spring! Your calm and collected attitude before races helped all
of the ladies this year and your solid performances help get our team back in
the top 10 in the region. Thank you for an incredible four years of hard work.
We will never forget you or your parkour skills.
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| Some of the team who made the trip to Nationals |
Ladies, I will never be able to thank you enough for the laughs and letting me be your running partner. I can't wait to hit the roads with you in 2012.
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Post Season - (NCAC/NCAA)
Few times during the season are as exciting as the post
season. It is where all of our team goals and dreams lead to. Now we are
entering our final week of workouts and easy runs as we prepare to once again
compete at the NCAA national championship. This will be the 7th
consecutive season for the men and the 1st year in 5 for a women’s
team member to step back onto the national course. It is a testament to the
rich history and tradition our XC teams have to bring 9 team members to the D3
Championship meet.
NCAC
Our first stop in the post season was the North Coast
Atlantic Conference Championships. The women’s race kicked off at 11:00am and
held some great surprises for the lady Gator’s. Sophomore Kristina Martin had a
personal best of 22:25 for the 6k enroute to a 4th place finish.
Each of the ladies ahead of Kristina will also be competing individually at the
NCAA Championship meet. Junior Kelly Gallagher for the second race in a row improved
her time of 23:34 on the course. After an uphill battle with anemia for the
majority of the season, Kelly showed that she was still strong enough to be top
conference competitor. Just this week Captain Gallagher completed her season on
a positive note finishing higher in the Mid-East region than she ever has
before.
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| Senior Amber Wetzel |
Before the men’s race started, we knew we had our work cut
out for us. Finishing second to a nationally strong Wabash College, our men
battled to come within 12 points of the Little Giants. A strong pair of
performances from Kevin Edwards and Pat McLaughlin and freshmen standouts Alex
Simon and James Rynes kept the race close. Although Wabash succeeded in
snapping a 7 year championship streak we have already made it a priority to
bring home the hardware again next year as we will be returning 6 of our top 7
runners.
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| Freshmen Alex Simon and James Rynes |
NCAA Regional Championship
The best feeling for a coach is when you see your athletes
running their best when it matters the most. I couldn’t have imagined our races
last Saturday going much better than it did. Our ladies race gave our team a
buzz about the future and I think we realized that we are only one or two pieces
away from bringing the whole team to the national championship. The men’s race
shocked the region and the national polls. It hasn’t been a secret that I have
had a chip on my shoulder all year about the lack of respect that has been
shown to our men in the polls and our boys didn’t disappoint. While it is true
we replaced some of the most talented runners in our program history, I have
known all year that our team had the ability to improve upon our last season's performances.
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| Sophomore Kristina Martin |
Kristina punched her first ticket to the national meet after a spectacular 15th place finish. (7th individual overall) With a time of 23:37 on a hilly course Kristina held of a charging Swarthmore runner to be the last lady from our region to make it to NCAA’s. It has been our hope all year that if our women’s team wasn’t selected to attend the national meet we would have some of the top ladies in the region competing for the individual spots in the NCAA race. GO K-MART!!!
At the first mile I could tell Bobby was about to crush the competition. With a stellar pre-regional race/workout Bobby was prepared and ready for the awkward DeSales course. By mile two Bobby had solidified his position at the top of the pack. In a region that has 6 teams ranked nationally (2 in the top 5) we packed 3 runners into the top 11 finishers! It was exhilarating to hear all the talk about the Allegheny men near the finish line as people were watching us almost upset the #6 ranked team in the country at the time, Dickinson. The men are racing fast at the right time and the 26 weeks of prior training and thousands of miles ran by each individual is paying off for them. I was about as proud as I have ever been to be the Head Coach of Allegheny XC that day. Congrats boys!! We are headed back to the big show and it is our time to shine! All of the hard work and mileage is paying off when it matters most.
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| Men's Regional Team and Head Coach Brent Wilkerson |
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Pre Regional/Regional Rumble
The last 4 weeks of training and competition have flown by! Our past two competitions have been extremely important for us as well. DeSales’ regional preview and Oberlin’s Inner Regional Rumble place a significant role in telling us as a program how we stack up against the nation’s best. While we didn’t come out of either competition with a win we have seen some incredible performances out of our packs. With two second place finishes from our men’s team and some great front running from our women’s team we can tell that the Gators are ready for NCAC’s.
Fall training in Meadville PA, has been fantastic. Even with the steady amount of rain the Mid-East has been receiving we have been fortunate to have Ernst Bike Trail for some great workouts. Every year I am amazed at our team’s ability to rise to each workouts task and perform at their best. With the academic rigor, late study nights, and pitching contests* college can become a little stressful and I am extremely impressed with how my guys and girls handle it. I love having a team that wants to be better runners and know what it takes to achieve their goals.
Both the Pre-Regional and Rumble were challenging races. DeSales’ course was rough to say the least and a bit warm. Our top men (Vlah, McLaughlin, Over, and Edwards) worked hard to pull some of their teammates early through the first 4k of the race. Once they hit 4k it was nothing but surge. Even though we were just out to preview the course and get a decent workout in some great things happened. Our top 3 guys all somehow worked their way back into the top 15 of the race, With Bobby almost winning the race finishing in 2nd! More importantly, we saw a significant improvement from our 5th to 10th man.
While the Oberlin course has one of the fastest looking set ups we were unfortunate to run on a windy/moist day. The men finished second but I think it was an even more important and successful day for the Lady Gators. Kristina Martin continued with her amazing sophomore campaign and we saw the returning debut of both Kelly Gallagher and Suzanna Kearns. I have all the respect in the world for runners who battle with illness and injury to come back to fight for their teams. I believe those ladies would sacrifice anything for their team.
We are hungry and ready to prove who we are at the conference meet. I hope the other teams are ready for our Gator pack!
*Our favorite German team member, Kevin Edwards, bet he could throw an 80 mph fast ball. So I pulled a few strings with our baseball coach Kelly Swiney to get him under the radar gun. Even with an impressive 74mph fast ball, Kevin failed. The loss of the bet resulted in him wearing his girlfriend’s tights at the next workout, in front of the whole football team…
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| Freshman Andy Sharfman |
*Our favorite German team member, Kevin Edwards, bet he could throw an 80 mph fast ball. So I pulled a few strings with our baseball coach Kelly Swiney to get him under the radar gun. Even with an impressive 74mph fast ball, Kevin failed. The loss of the bet resulted in him wearing his girlfriend’s tights at the next workout, in front of the whole football team…
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| Kevin Edwards & Bobby Over |
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Knight Invite!
What an unbelievable great day we had. In almost every occasion when a team goes to a meet there is something that could be better that you cannot control. A late start time, weather, bad course, or many other harsh conditions are things we as runners have to overcome on race day. It is part of the sport and a part of what makes cross country runners special in their ability to go beyond their obstacles and still achieve their goals. However, every once in a blue moon conditions are perfect for a cross country race.
In the men’s top 5 alone a total of six minutes and 54 seconds (6:54) was taken of their previous combined 8k personal records! Their performance alone was enough to stun me until I realized that our 6th, 7th, and 8th man were right on their heels (Two of which were freshmen, James Rynes/Alex Simon). It is funny to think our men’s team has been quickly shoved into the “rebuilding” category in the country even giving our talent and consistent improvement for our teams. Polls will be polls, and things outside of our control will get zero attention from our team. If we continue to work hard our men’s team can achieve their goals this year. With the quickly improving pack, our 5-9 men are stepping their game up every day to keep our program history alive.
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| Kristina Martin & Alex Opsitnik cheering on our men's team. |
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| Lady Gators |
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Bill Sudeck Classic
What an awesome start to the season! The men win their opening meet of the year and the women have the top overall finisher (Kristina Martin). On what seemed to be the hottest day of the year I was impressed with our teams ability to overcome the conditions and compete well.
On Monday after the race senior Pat McLaughlin was awarded with NCAC Runner of the Week for his performance in the 6k. Pat was the top finisher for our team, 2nd overall, with a total time of 20:20. The top 5 pack of the men included Pat, Bobby Over, Kevin Edwards, Mike Vlah, and Jack Denison. It was great to see Jack make a huge step forward after a long off season of training. It is people like Jack that put in the hard work over the summer that make our team special.
The ladies top five consisted of event winner Kristina Martin, Andy Sharfman, Sara Mitrano, Kelly Gallager, and Amber Wetzel. Freshman Andy Sharfman is starting off as one of the fastest freshmen we have ever seen here at Allegheny. She is an extremely calm and smart racer and the ladies team couldn’t be happier to have her aboard.
Friday, August 26, 2011
2011 Season Preview
Great expectations. That's the theme of a season beginning to be authored by a young, fresh contingent of Gators prepared to embark on a new journey as they begin their collegiate athletic careers. The journey will likely take the new Gators down the road of tradition. A tradition that includes conference champions, National qualifiers, and all-American runners and throwers. 21 new faces join the ranks of 45 returning athletes all of whom have high hopes and great expectations for the season ahead. The main objective: win Conference Championships. With everyone sharing the same winning mindset, the pressure to win is sure to usher in a successful season.
Having already arrived on campus for a week of pre-season training and team buliding, the cross country team has the first shot at securing a conference championship for both the men and the women. The men brought home their 7th consecutive team title last season with the top five guys all finishing in the top 15 runners while the women finished just 2 points behind Oberlin to take the runner-up spot at NCACs. To say the least, both teams expect to bring home the 1st place trophy this season and nothing less. The men seek out their 8th title while the women crave their first in a decade; either way, both squads have a lot to prove this season to their conference, their region, and quite possibly the nation.
During the first week alone, the team has already built a cohesive bond, with the shared winning attitude serving as the glue that holds them all together. From easy runs at Presque Isle to the anticipation building up to the Saturday night 3K time trial, the runners are using this last week of freedom before classes begin to take the time to seriously focus on the season ahead. While injury, heartbreak, and loss are sometimes unavoidable, the men and women all share a mindset that creates a family-like atmosphere at practice. The runners know and realize that although cross country may depend heavily on individual achievement, winning is impossible without each other.
So, as we welcome the new athletes as well as the more experienced runners, the season stretches out before us, not as a daunting task to be completed or another finish line to be crossed, but as motivation for achieving those great expectations that the team has so clearly developed. Sure enough, the pressure to win this season is there, but it's the pressure that so often forces runners to overcome challenges. Pressure creates opportunity and this season, the team looks to use that opportunity to their advantage...it's not one that the Gators are prepared to let slip by.
Having already arrived on campus for a week of pre-season training and team buliding, the cross country team has the first shot at securing a conference championship for both the men and the women. The men brought home their 7th consecutive team title last season with the top five guys all finishing in the top 15 runners while the women finished just 2 points behind Oberlin to take the runner-up spot at NCACs. To say the least, both teams expect to bring home the 1st place trophy this season and nothing less. The men seek out their 8th title while the women crave their first in a decade; either way, both squads have a lot to prove this season to their conference, their region, and quite possibly the nation.
During the first week alone, the team has already built a cohesive bond, with the shared winning attitude serving as the glue that holds them all together. From easy runs at Presque Isle to the anticipation building up to the Saturday night 3K time trial, the runners are using this last week of freedom before classes begin to take the time to seriously focus on the season ahead. While injury, heartbreak, and loss are sometimes unavoidable, the men and women all share a mindset that creates a family-like atmosphere at practice. The runners know and realize that although cross country may depend heavily on individual achievement, winning is impossible without each other.
So, as we welcome the new athletes as well as the more experienced runners, the season stretches out before us, not as a daunting task to be completed or another finish line to be crossed, but as motivation for achieving those great expectations that the team has so clearly developed. Sure enough, the pressure to win this season is there, but it's the pressure that so often forces runners to overcome challenges. Pressure creates opportunity and this season, the team looks to use that opportunity to their advantage...it's not one that the Gators are prepared to let slip by.
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| Junior Kelly Gallagher |
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