Xavier track and field closed out its regular season on a high note and looks ahead to the Big East Championships.
The men’s and women’s teams competed in four meets throughout the last two weekends: the Bryan Clay Invitational, Pacesetter Invitational, the Beach Invitational and the Lenny Lyles-Clark Wood Invitational.
During the three meets in California, the men’s side set school records.
One standout performance came from sophomore William Roberts, who broke his original individual school record in the 400-meter hurdles, posting a time of 53.64 at the Bryan Clay Invite.
While on the women’s side sophomore Anna Kostarellis continued her successful second-year campaign.
At the Beach Invite, Kostarellis set the school record in the 3000-meter steeplechase with a time of 10:31.30.
She also competed in heat 4 of the 5000-meter run posting a time of 16:49.24 placing her in third place overall at the Bryan Clay Invite.
Kostarellis now ranks 40th individually in the NCAA East Region.
At the Pacesetter Invitational hosted by Indiana State, Xavier posted 16 top-10 finishers.
Freshman Maya Hannagan won the 5000-meter run at 17:35.36 and senior Kara Robinson won the 400-meter hurdles at 1:03.24.
Sophomore Connor Meehan led the men’s side placing first in the 800-meter dash with a time of 1:55.95.
At the Lenny Lyles-Clark Wood Invitational, sophomore Jennifer Prial took home a first-place finish in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 10:43.84. The result marked Prial’s personal-best time in the event.
“We had a good weekend at Louisville. It was exactly what I was looking for two weeks before Big East,” head coach Ryan Orner told goxavier.com. “We competed well, we executed race plans well and hung in there against some good competition. Jennie Prial’s win in the steeple was definitely the highlight of the meet but everyone on the team who competed had a good meet.”
Xavier will return at the Big East Outdoor Track and Field Championships on May 10-11 in New York City.
By Tim Kramer | Staff Writer
