Richmond Spiders at the 2011 Penn Relays (Friday & Thursday)

(R-L) Nicol Traynor (2nd leg-4:23.2 split), Amy Van Alstine (1st leg-4:19.7 split),
Alli Mannon (4th leg- 4:34.9 split) and Jenn Ennis (3rd leg-4:40.5 split). 
The Spiders led the 1st half of the "4x1500M Championship of America"
race before finishing a strong 5th.

Friday was another great day for the Spiders at the 2011 Penn Relays:


On the heels of Andrew Benford's Championship 3K steeple win and Meaghan McGovern's College Hammer throw win our Spiders continued an excellent showing in the Penn Relays:

--Our Women's 4x1500M Relay placed 5th (17:58.28) after leading leg #1 (Van Alstine-4:19.7 split) and leg #2 (Traynor-4:23.2 split)  in the Penn Relays "Championship of America"
--X'auntasia Johnson finished 20th (11.59M) in the women's College Triple Jump...

FRIDAY EVENTS

Our women's 4x1500M Relay Splits:

Amy Van Alstine took command of the race throwing down
a 4:19.7 split to hand off in the lead.

Amy Van Alstine (SR) Finish Lynx Splits:

400M-68.5

800M-70.3 (2:18.8)

1200M-70.0 (3:28.8)

1500M-50.1 (4:19.7)--1st leg...Handed off in the lead

Nicol Traynor extended the lead for the Spiders
with her 4:23.2 split for 1500M

Nicol Traynor (JR) Finish Lynx Splits:

400M- 68.27

800M-71.40 (2:19.7)

1200M-71.9 (3:31.6)

1500M-53.1 (4:23.2)--2nd leg--Handed off in the lead

Jenn Ennis on the 3rd leg
as Boston College and Georgetown close. 
Jenn split 4:40.5 on her leg.

Jenn Ennis (SR) Finish Lynx Splits:

400M-73.7
800M-74.2 (2:27.8)
1200M-76.4 (3:44.3)
1500M-55:1 (4:40.5)--3rd leg---Handed off in 5th

Freshman, Alli Mannon anchored the Spiders to
5th place with her 4:34.9 split

Alli Mannon (Freshman) Finish Lynx Splits:
400M-69.7
800M-72.5 (2:22.2)
1200M-74.1 (3:36.2)
1500M-58.3 (4:34.9)---4th leg---finished in 5th
Total Time 17:58.28 (5th Place)  Link to Results HERE



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THURSDAY EVENTS

Andrew Benford, shown here winning the 2011 Fred Hardy Invitational
at Richmond's Fred Hardy Track, won the Penn Relays 3K steeple
with the 8th fastest time in the NCAA.

 A great Thursday for our Spiders at the 117th Penn Relays:

--Andrew Benford won (8:48.94) the Penn Relays Championship 3K Steeplechase
--Meaghan McGovern won (54.81M) the women's College Hammer Throw
--Monica Howard placed 4th (48.43M) in the women's College Discus Throw and set the school record
--Julie Rechel placed 4th (35:14.81) in the women's Championship 10K
--Heather Roush placed 6th (43.06M) in the women's Championship Javelin Throw
--Jon Wilson set a personal best (30:48.74) in the men's Championship 10K
--X'auntasia Johnson 23rd (5.28M) in the women's Eastern Long Jump.

Here are a few stats:
ANDREW BENFORD’s Championship 3K SC (8:48.94) win going into this weekend ranks #8 NCAA National…#6 NCAA East Region rank…#2 A-10 Conference Rank…His time was fastest of all races at Penn Relays, including the professional section known as the Olympic Development race...His time tonight was a 4 second Personal Record (PR).
LINK for Men's CHAMPIONSHIP 3KSC RESULTS

Watch the last lap of Andrew Benford's 2011 Penn Relays 3K Steeplechase win...


Watch more video of 2011 Penn Relays on flotrack.org

Andrew Benford's interview with FloTrack


Watch more video of 2011 Penn Relays on flotrack.org

Monica Howard broke her own school record
to place 6th in the College Discus Throw. 

MONICA HOWARD ‘s 4th place College Discus Throw (48.43M) going into this weekend ranks #75 NCAA National…#30 NCAA East Region ranks…#1 A-10 Conference rank…Her effort  broke her own school record by nearly 1 meter.
LINK for Women's DISCUS RESULTS

Julie Rechel, shown leading the 2010 A-10 Championship 10K race,
set a personal best tonight in the
Championship 10K of the Penn Relays.

JULIE RECHEL’s 5th place 10K (35:14.81) going into this weekend ranks #80 NCAA National...#30 NCAA East Region rank… #1 A-10 Conference rank…Her time was a 36 second PR…Recently Rechel was 2nd in the USA Collegiate National Triathlon Championships 2 weeks ago (Read More HERE)...Julie's splits to follow on Friday.
LINK for Women's CHAMPIONSHIP 10K RESULTS

Rechel's 10K splits
1-84.16
2-82.12
3-82.40
4-83.10=5:31.78 at 1600M
5-82.68
6-84.07
7-82.75
8-83.38=(5:32.6)=11:04.66 at 3200M
9-83.72
10-83.43
11-83.31
12-83.33=(5:33.7)=16:37.3 at 3 Miles
5K-17:18.9 split
13-83.28
14-84.20
15-83.43
16-83.28=(5:34.0)=22:11.3 at 4 miles
17-87.68
18-87.46
19-87.32
20-87.89=(5:50.1)=28:01.4 at 5 miles 
21-88.33
22-88.45
23-83.67
24-87.23=(5:47.5)=33:48.9 at 6 miles
25-84.16=(35.14.81 for 10K) 

Meaghan McGovern won the women's College Hammer Throw.

MEAGHAN McGOVERN’s College Hammer (54.81M) win going into this weekend ranks #86 NCAA National… #42 NCAA East Region rank… #4 A-10 Conference rank…Her throw was a PR by nearly 1 meter....
LINK for Women's COLLEGE HAMMER RESULTS

Heather Roush placed 6th in the Women's Championship Javelin Throw.

 HEATHER ROUSH’s Championship Javelin throw (43.06M) placed 6th…She set the school record earlier this season with a mark (48.08M) that still ranks in the top 25 in the NCAA National Rankings.
LINK for Women's CHAMPIONSHIP JAVELIN RESULTS 

Jon Wilson ran a PR in the 10K,
but he'll need a faster time to make it to the NCAA East Region.

 JON WILSON's 10K (30:48.74) was not what he wanted but still a PR…Jon's splits to follow Friday evening.
LINK for Men's CHAMPIONSHIP 10K RESULTS

Wilson's 10K Splits
1-72.56
2-72.18
3-70.43
4-70.19=4:44.3 at 1600M
5-73.1
6-73.3
7-71.0
8-72.03=9:33.8 at 3200M
9-73.01
10-72.05
11-73.23
12-74.32=14:26.4 at 3 Miles
5K Split-15:05.3
13-73.52
14-75.58
15-76.59
16-76.35=19:28.4 at 4 Miles
17-76.02
18-76.37
19-75.30
20-76.60= 24:32.7 at 5 Miles
21-76.75
22-75.54
23-75.36
24-74.85=29:35 at 6 Miles
25-72.19= 30:48.74 at 10K

X'auntasia Johnson fouled her first 2 jumps of the Penn Relays.

 X'AUNTASIA JOHNSON's Eastern Long Jump result was not what she wanted...with her first 2 jumps ending in fouls she needed a mark and managed a 5.28M...
LINK for EASTERN LONG JUMP RESULTS 

A 3 day total of 110,141 spectators attended the 2011 Penn Relays.

(R-L...F-B) Nicol Traynor (4:23.2 split in 4x1500M here at Penn and
16:10.37 in the 5K at Mt SAC Relays),
Alli Mannon (4:34.5 split in 4x1500M),
Jill Prentice (16:38 in the 5K at Mt SAC Relays),
Julie Rechel (5th in the 10K-35:14.81 and
2nd at the USA Collegiate Triathlon National Championships),
Jenn Ennis (4:35.49 in the 1500M at the Princeton Invite),
Amy Van Alstine (4:19.7 lead off leg of the 4x1500M and
16:09.22 for 5K at Mt SAC Relays),
Beth Kelly (36:08.68 for 10K at Mt SAC Relays) 
and Erin Lunny (17:27.47 in the 5K at the Princeton Inv.)

A large crowd (over 40,000) of specators were in
attendance on Friday to see the Spiders of Richmond
compete in the 4x1500M relay where they led the first 2 legs
before finishing 5th (RESULTS HERE)

(R-L) A little Dunkin' Donuts for Julie Rechel, Nicol Traynor, Jenn Ennis,
Amy Van Alstine, Jill Prentice and Alli Mannon.

(R-L) Beth Kelly and Erin Lunny support their teammates. 
Kelly ran 36:08 for 10K at the Mt SAC Relays
2 weeks ago (See Link)...
while Lunny ran 17:27 for 5K last weekend at Princeton (See Link)

On Thursday there was a large crowd for the
distance carnival of the 117th running of the Penn Relays.

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Benford Wins Steeplechase, McGovern Takes Hammer At Penn Relays

Senior Andrew Benford led wire-to-wire in taking the college steeplechase championship.

by Mike DeGeorge
UR SID

April 28, 2011

Follow Coach Taylor on Twitter at Penn Relays     Penn Relays website

PHILADELPHIA - Senior Andrew Benford crushed the field with an electrifying run to win the college men's 3,000m steeplechase, while junior Meaghan McGovern won the college women's hammer throw at the Penn Relays Thursday night.
Benford, who has established himself as one the elite steeplechase runners in the NCAA, led virtually wire-to-wire and crushed the field on the historic Franklin Field track with his championship time of 8:48.94. Benford was five seconds clear of second-place finisher Wesley Ruttoh from the University of Houston (8:53.91).
McGovern was crowned the Penn Relay's college women's hammer throw champion with a throw of 54.81m, beating out Amanda Phelps of Navy (54.42m). McGovern's winning throw came in Round 5 of the finals.

READ MORE HERE