Mark Allen and Mark Leininger ran well en route to a IC4A Championship qualification when the the AU indoor track and field team continued its streak of successful running Feb. 1 and 2 at the New Balance Collegiate Invitational in New York, N.Y.
The Eagles faced some of the best runners in the nation at the meet, and despite having fewer athletes participating than in previous weeks, the team performed well and had some runners post some excellent times.
Two seniors had strong outings by recording IC4A-qualifying times in the 5,000-meter championship. Mark Allen, who was named the AU GEICO Student-Athlete of the Week Feb. 4, ran a 14:17:05 and placed second, while Mark Leininger ran a 14:21:79 and placed sixth. Having secured an IC4A-qualifying time, both runners are eligible to partake in the IC4A Championship in March.
Both runners shattered their personal bests in the event, Allen by 15 seconds and Leininger by 26 seconds. They also beat the IC4A-qualifying time by over 20 seconds. In addition, the pair ran the second- and third-best times in AU indoor track program history, respectively.
Rounding out the runners for the men’s team was junior Constantine Matsakis, who ran a 4:18:07 in the mile and finished in the top 30.
Freshmen David Hamilton and Max Hamilton ran the 800 meters, both finishing in the top 70. David ran a 1:59:90 and finished 54th while Max ran a personal best of 2:00:66 and finished 61st.
Junior Julia Sullivan led the way for the women’s team in the mile, posting a near personal best 5:16:19 and coming in at 43rd. Fellow junior Krystal Foster also ran well, finishing 26th in the 3,000 meters and recording a time of 10:41:15.
The team hits the track next on Feb. 15, 16 and 17 at the 2013 Patriot League Indoor Championships in West Point, N.Y. The IC4A Championship that Allen and Leininger qualified for will be held March 1-3 in Boston, Mass.
Sports@theeagleonline.com
