LEXINGTON, Ky.—Senior throwers
Andrew Grinnell (New Milford, Conn.) and
Nick Coffey (Cranston, R.I.) each recorded their highest finishes in three career appearances at the NCAA East Preliminary in a strong start for Villanova to this year's meet on Wednesday afternoon. The success continued into the evening track events at the University of Kentucky Outdoor Track and Field Complex as a quartet of middle distance runners were automatic qualifiers coming out of the first round of their respective events.
The duo of senior
Liam Murphy (Millstone, N.J.) and sixth year collegian
Charlie O'Donovan (Cork, Ireland) each moved on to the national quarterfinal round of the 1500 meters, while fifth year runner
Sean Dolan (Ewing, N.J.) and freshman
Dan Watcke (Hinsdale, Ill.) did the same in the 800 meters. Men's competition will resume on Friday afternoon, while the first day of women's competition is on Thursday's docket. The NCAA East Preliminary meet, along with its counterpart in the West region, serves as the early rounds of the NCAA Championships.
JAVELIN
Grinnell and Coffey took center stage on the javelin runway Wednesday afternoon before any of the track events got underway. They were each competing at the NCAA East meet for the third consecutive year and both throwers combined their best career finish at the competition with their top marks recorded at the meet. Grinnell threw 63.15 meters in the second of three flights and Coffey registered a mark of 62.01 meters on his final throw of the day in the opening flight.
Two delays due to severe weather – one after Coffey's first throw and a second during Grinnell's initial warmup – did nothing to slow down the Wildcats pair. Coffey improved his mark on each of his three throws, going from 55.61 meters on his first attempt to 62.01 meters on his final throw. That last mark was 27 centimeters further than he threw at this meet last season when he tallied a 37
th place finish. Grinnell opened his day on Wednesday with a measurement of 61.03 meters before improving that to 63.15 meters on his next throw. His best previous finish at this meet had been 33
rd two years ago.
Grinnell and Coffey both wound up in the top-30 overall of Wednesday's competition, with Grinnell finishing 25
th and Coffey ranking 28
th. Those are each the highest finishes for Villanova men's javelin throwers since the current East and West preliminary round competitions were put into place beginning with the 2010 season.
1500 METERS
A trio of Wildcats made up a quarter of the field in the first heat of the 1500 meters on Wednesday evening. Murphy and O'Donovan finished 1-2 to automatically advance from the national first round into the quarterfinal heats later this week. They posted times of 3:42.69 and 3:42.91, respectively, while junior
Sean Donoghue (Dublin, Ireland) posted a time of 3:45.17. The top five finishers in each of four heats and the next four fastest times qualified for the next round.
Murphy held the University of Kentucky facility record for about 15 minutes from Wednesday's first through fourth heats. He and O'Donovan each came in under the existing stadium record of 3:43.38 which had only been set earlier this season by a hometown Wildcats runner. In Wednesday's race, Murphy and O'Donovan each went to the front of the pack during the first 300 meters and never relinquished those positions despite a furious charge behind them down the home stretch.
This is the fourth straight year that O'Donovan has competed at the NCAA East Preliminary, while Murphy qualified for the meet for the second straight season after recording an 11
th place finish in the 1500 meters at last year's NCAA Championships. Following a tactical start to the race, Murphy and O'Donovan closed with respective bell laps of 53.88 and 53.92 to secure their spots in Friday night's quarterfinals.
Donoghue advanced to the NCAA Championships in his first collegiate outdoor season a year ago. He was stuck near the back of the pack early on in Wednesday's race and eventually ran out of real estate despite a strong kick to the finish.
800 METERS
The final event for the Wildcats on Wednesday evening was the first round of the 800 meters. Dolan and Watcke followed in the footsteps of their 1500 meter teammates in running the same heat as each other. The top three finishers in each of six heats and the next six fastest times moved on to the next round. All six of the on-time qualifiers came from the final two heats, making a top-three finish the only route to qualifying from the earlier sections. Dolan and Watcke each got there, but in different ways.
Dolan is a veteran of the NCAA East Preliminary and is competing at the meet for the fourth straight year, including the third consecutive season in the 800 meters. He started out near the front of the pack during his first lap around the track and powered strong to the finish line to win the heat in 1:48.11. Watcke was near the back of the pack after the first lap and then went to the very end of the ranks with 300 meters to go in order to swing wide and make a big kick on the back straightaway.
The move was an effective one for the first year collegian, as he surged into the top three with 200 meters left and held his spot approaching the finish line. He finished in 1:48.50 and was third at the finish line. Despite making his collegiate debut this Spring and not having competed at the NCAA East meet before, Watcke is now stranger to high level competition. He won a gold medal in the 800 meters at the Pan American U20 Championships last Summer and is a two-time bronze medalist in the event at the USATF U20 Championships.
UP NEXT
Women's competition begins on Thursday and Villanova will be in action in the semifinal round of the 10000 meters as well as the first round heats of the 800 meters. The threat of severe weather has once again affected the schedule of events. As of late Wednesday night, the first round of the women's 800 meters is scheduled for 4:50 p.m. on Thursday afternoon and the semifinal of the 10000 meters is slated for 6:10 p.m. Men's competition resumes on Friday afternoon.
