Boston College
BIG EAST Outdoor Championships
Track Members Compete On Day Two Of BIG EAST Championships
May 04, 2002 | Women's Track & Field
May 4, 2002
STORRS, Conn. - Members of the Boston College men's and women's track and field teams competed at the 2002 BIG EAST Outdoor Track and Field Championships on Saturday afternoon at the George J. Sherman Family-Sports Complex, which is on the campus of the University of Connecticut. The women's team had a successful afternoon, as the Eagles stand in sixth place with a score of 23.50, while the men failed to pick up any points on the first day of scoring.
For the women's team, junior Julie Spolidoro (Duxbury, Mass.) had an incredible showing in the grueling 10,000-meter run, as she finished runner-up with a time of 35:26.61. Her time, which earned her a spot in the ECAC Championships, was only 22 seconds behind Georgetown's Marni Kruppa. Spolidoro's runner-up finish earned Boston College eight points.
Sophomore Jennifer Donovan (Melville, N.Y.) picked up six points for the Eagles, as she placed third in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Donovan's time of 10:57.90 earned her a spot in the ECAC Championships. Freshman Liz Hassan (Whitman, Mass.) and sophomore Julie Heyde (Natick, Mass.) combined to score eight points for BC on Saturday. Hassan placed fourth and Heyde sixth in the heptathlon competition. Hassan finished with an ECAC qualifying total of 4,573, while Heyde completed the grueling competition with a total score of 4,167.
Freshman Megan Mara (Avon, Conn.) was the only other scorer for the Eagles. Mara placed seventh in the pole vault with a ECAC qualifying mark of 11'05.75". Junior Megan Kearney (North Canton, Conn.) qualified in the discus throw following her ninth-place performance.
Senior Katie Ryan (Elmira, N.Y.), who was just named Eagle of the Year on Thursday, turned in the fastest qualifying time in the 1,500-meter run. She finished with a time of 4:27.86, which was two seconds faster than anyone else trying to qualify for the finals, which will be held on Sunday.
On the men's side, junior Vernon Mickle (Bay Shore, N.Y.) and senior Michael McKenzie (Natick, Mass.) both competed in the 800-meter run. Mickle just missed qualifying for the finals, as he placed 10th with a time of 1:51.64. McKenzie finished in 15th place, as he turned in a time of 1:52.70.
Junior Shawn Wallace (Wakefield, Mass.) also just missed out on qualifying for the finals in the 1,500-meter run, as he placed 13th with a solid time of 3:55.16. Junior Brian Mahoney (Weymouth, Mass.) completed the 3,000-meter steeplechase in 15th place with a time of 9:40.58.
Senior Tony Beirne (Lake Forest, Ill.) concluded his BIG EAST career with ninth and 11th-place results in the shot put and discus throws, respectively. Beirne turned in a mark of 50'04.75" in the shot put and a mark of 146'11.00" in the discus.
