Track stars prove worth in international competition
By Josh Kolm
Sports Editor
July 13, 2010
Members of the Lancer Track and Field team continue to impress at competition, despite being several months ahead of the first meet of the year. This past weekend, several runners traveled to Florida to compete at the North American, Central American and Caribbean (NACAC) Under-23 Track and Field Championships against some of the best athletes on the continent.
Anthony Berkis, in only his third race with the Lancers after his transfer from High Point University, reached the podium with a third-place finish in the 1500m race. The finish is especially satisfying since Berkis narrowly missed qualifying for the NACAC last year in the 3000m steeplechase.
Melissa Bishop placed fourth in a competitive field running the 800m. While her time was half a second short of cracking the top three, the personal best she set last month would have won her the race by the same margin.
Noelle Montcalm finished fourth in the 100m hurdles with a 13.25 time that put her in a photo finish for the podium. The bronze winner, Jamaica’s Rosemary Carty, finished just .03 ahead of the Lancers’ biggest point getter at the 2010 CIS Championships.
Montcalm met the standard in June at a meet in Calgary to earn a spot at the competition. Bishop and Berkis were able to compete by virtue of their finishes at an American Milers Club meet in Indianapolis on June 16.
Bishop captured a first place finish in the 800m race and set her personal best with a 2:04.74 time. Berkis ran his first two Lancer events at the same meet, making up for falling short of the NACAC standard in steeplechase with a first place finish in the 1500m. |
