Boston College Athletics
Boston College
Reebok Boston Games
Successful Weekend For Track And Field
February 01, 2007 | Men's Track & Field
Jan. 30, 2007
Track and field competed in a number of different meets this weekend. While most of the team competed in the Reebok Boston games at Northeastern University, the Eagles also sent competitors to Boston University and Clemson University.
At Clemson, juniors Kasey Hill and Tiana Riel competed in their second pentathlons of the season. In dominant fashion, the duo finished first and second, respectively, while rewriting the BC record books in the process. Hill's 3865 points betters her own school record, while Riel's total of 3635 is good for second on the school's all-time list.
Over at BU, the Eagles lone competitor was junior runner Patrick Mellea. Running in the 3000 meter, Mellea turned in the school's fastest time in over a decade. His time of 8:05.9 is the fifth fastest mark in Boston College history, and qualifies him provisionally for the NCAA Championships in March.
Meanwhile, the women's team was making its mark at the Reebok games, collecting five wins en route to a first-place finish out of 13 teams. Freshmen Caitlin Bailey and Jessica Driscoll were both victorious, winning the 400m and 1000m events respectively. Bailey also took fourth in the 200m. Finishing second behind Driscoll in the 1000m was fellow Eagle Jessica Flinn.
In the 800m, the Eagle women boasted the top three times, led by freshman Gretchen Andrus. Junior Jennifer Heyde finished second, followed by freshman Christine Sullivan. BC also turned in the top two times in the 3000m. Fifth-year senior Kristen Coon turned in a time of 9:52.66, nearly thirteen seconds ahead of the second-place finisher, freshman Brielle Chabot. In total, the women achieved 15 top-five finishes.
The men's team finished sixth out of 13, led by miler Timothy Ritchie, who finished third out of 45 runners. Ritchie's 4:18.25 time is a personal best. The Eagles also got strong performances from their relay teams. The distance medley team finished second overall behind the exploits of juniors Dan Springer (1200m) and Frank DiVittorio (800m), sophomore Greg Hassel (400m), and senior Mark Alizzi (1600). In the 4x400m relay, freshmen Brendan Gaffney and Mike Akins, junior Ryan Henry, and senior Chris Caulfield combined to take third.
In an inter-squad event, men's runners competed in the 800m to see who would earn the fourth and final spot on the 4x800m team that will compete at the prestigious Millrose games this weekend. The top time was turned in by the Eagles senior captain Dan LaFave. While the 4x800m team will be in New York City this weekend, the rest of the team will compete at the Giegengack Invitational in New Haven, CT. on Friday and Saturday.
