Willard and Grovey Qualify for NCAA Nationals

May 29, 2006

North Carolina - The Bears competed this past weekend at the NCAA East Regional competition. Select athletes participated in the elite two-day event in North Carolina by hitting qualifying marks during the outdoor season.

The women will send two women to NCAA Nationals. Senior indoor All-Americans Brittany Grovey (Hobbs, NM) and Anna Willard (Telstar, ME) qualified for the big dance this weekend in the triple jump and the 3,000-meter steeplechase, respectively.

Saturday night, Willard won the Regional title in her primer event, clocking a 10:12 to keep her ranked seventh in the nation. With half a lap remaining in the race, Willard moved from third to first to seal the deal with a four-second margin of victory.

Co-captain Grovey continued her dominance in the triple jump, posting 43-09.4 on Saturday. The mark put her fifth overall in the DI East Region.

Sophomore and captain-elect Jamil McClintock (Plainfield, NJ) tied the school record in the 110-meter hurdles on Friday. Though he did not make it to finals, the time of 14.21 was a personal best.

Junior Paul Rosiak (Woodridge, NJ) hit 207-02 in the javelin.

Frosh Nicole Burns (Newburgh, NY) competed in her first regionals competition in the 400-meter dash. Burns timed in at 54.40. Another frosh also made her NCAA East debut, as Lindsay Kahn also took to the line in the 3,000-meter steeplechase.

Back on the runway, junior Ikenna Achilihu (Monroe, LA) hit 50-03.25 in the triple jump to take third in his flight.

Junior and captain-elect Michol Monaghan (Uniontown, PA) competed in the 5,000-meter run, clocking 17:06.

Heptagonal Champions Kent Walls (Beckley, WV) and Ray Bobrownicki (Kennett Square, PA) closed out their track careers. Kent threw the discus for 163-11 to place third in the first flight, and Bobrownicki competed in the high jump.

Grovey and Willard will attend the NCAA National Championships next week in Sacramento, California.