5/7/2004 - Women's Track and Field
Mids Take Last Shot At Qualifying For Upcoming Championship Meets
Jen Leatherman is hoping to nail 200 feet in the hammer throw. |
Annapolis, Md. - Members of both the Navy men's and women's track and field teams will compete Sunday at the Towson Invitational with hopes of qualifying for several upcoming championship meets with the ECAC and IC4A Championships May 15-16, and the NCAA East Regional meet May 30-31.
"This meet is the last chance that our athletes will have to qualify for the ECAC or to improve their rankings," said Navy women's head coach Carla Criste. "For some who have already qualified, the meet is a good tune-up for the upcoming meets."
Criste pointed to long jumper Michelle Schiller (So., Glendale, Ariz.) as an athlete she is hoping to reach a qualifying mark this Sunday. Schiller jumped a personal-best 5.77 meters (18'11") to finish third at least week's Patriot League Championship and is just shy of the ECAC-qualifying standard of 5.80 meters (19'0-1/4").
Another field performer Criste is expecting to take another step up in performance is Jen Leatherman (So., Yellville, Ark.). While Leatherman has already qualified for both the ECAC Championship and NCAA East Regional, the coach is looking for her to solidify her chances of qualifying for the NCAA Championship. The sophomore broke her own school record in the hammer throw for the fifth time in 2004 at the Patriot League Championship last week with a throw of 58.33 meters (191'4").
"We're looking for Jen to reach 200 feet this weekend," said Criste. "If she does that, she can really improve her position in the regional and national rankings."
The men are also using the Towson meet to qualify and improve their seeds for upcoming IC4A and NCAA Regional meets.
"We have several guys that we are trying to have improve their seeds or to get qualified for the upcoming meets," said men's head coach Stephen Cooksey. "We think Bobby Sparks (Sr., Yorba Linda, Calif.) is finally healthy enough to post a height in the pole vault that would get him into the NCAA Championship, and Erik Schmidt (Sr., Spokane, Wash.) has been cleared again to compete and we're hoping he can qualify for the IC4A and the NCAA East Regional this weekend. If Eric Porter (Sr., Brookeville, Md.) can run 46.50 seconds in the 400 meters, he would put himself in good shape to qualify for the NCAA meet because he would be in the top 25 in the country.
"We have a couple guys - Joshua McCann (Jr., Magnolia, Texas) and David Taveras (Jr., Cape Coral, Fla.) - in the 1,500 meters that we also think can qualify for the IC4A Championship this weekend."
Sparks, who missed time with a hamstring injury, has a season-best vault of 5.15 meters (16'10-3/4") and Cooksey believes the senior is ready to clear 5.22 meters (17'1-1/2") which would put him in the top 25. Schmidt, who suffered a broken collarbone three weeks ago in practice, has competed in two outdoor meets this season after finishing fifth in the mile at the NCAA Indoor Championship in March. The senior has not qualified in the mile for either championship.
