Track Teams Hitting the Home Stretch

by The Cowl Editor on April 6, 2017


Sports


Photo Courtesy of Charles Joyce

by Jeff Williams ’17

Sports Staff

The 2016-2017 school year has been another great one so far for Providence College Track and Field, with another Big East Women’s Cross Country title and numerous All-Big East and All-American athletes. After yet another banner fall and indoor season for Ray Treacy ’82 and his cross country and track teams, the Friar men and women have yet again laced their sneakers and taken off into a new campaign.

The Friars’ men and women kicked off their outdoor seasons with a bang at the Stony Brook Quad Meet on March 23. They took on Stony Brook University, Iona College, Columbia University, and La Salle University in Stony Brook, New York. Nick Carleo ’19 won the 800-meters with a time of 1:56.05, and Jimmy Campbell ’17 finished third in the 400. They then teamed up with Michael O’Leary ’19 and Marcus Karamanolis ’19 to win the 4×800 in a fast 7:56.61.

For the women, Alexandra DeCicco ’20 finished third in the 800 and Lauren Mullins ’17G came in third in the 1500. The team of DeCicco, Bridget Gonzalez ’20, Aisling Quinn ’19, and Molly Keating ’17G placed third in the 4×800.

Over the weekend, the teams split up to compete in different events across the country. The Stanford Invitational hosted many of the best programs and athletes in the NCAA, but the Friars held their own. Millie Paladino ’18 grabbed second in the 1500 meters while Brianna Ilarda ’18 came in fourth in the 5000; both times ranked fifth nationwide. Hugh Armstrong ’17 ran a fast 10000-meters in 29:23.29 that should qualify him for the NCAA championships in June. Julian Oakley ’17G took eighth in a strange 1500 race where the lead pack of runners collided with a meet official who had stepped onto the track.

Meanwhile, the rest of the team was back in Smithfield, Rhode Island for the Black and Gold Invitational against nine Northeast schools. The men dominated the 5000, as Stephen Robertson ’17G came in first (14:47.94), followed by Austin Scola ’18 in second, Marcus Karamanolis ’19 in fourth, and Brendan Sullivan ’17G in sixth. Campbell finished third in the 800 while Joseph Hurton ’19 placed fifth in the 400-meter hurdles. The duo then teamed up with Jared Grossi ’20 and Micheal O’Leary ’19 to come in third in the 4×400 relay. John Olayiwola ’18 took third on the triple jump. For the women, Keating dominated the 800 meters (2:20.05), followed by Gonzalez in second and Darra Cuffe ’19 in sixth. DeCicco placed third in the 1500, closely followed by Mullins in fifth.

Providence College will host their next meet, the Ocean State Invitational, on Saturday, April 15. They will close out the regular season with the Penn Relays in Philadelphia and the Brown Invitational at the end of April. Villanova will host the Big East Championships from May 12-13, where both the Friar men and women are expected to make a splash.