College Roundup Irish winners abound at Heps, Big East championships

By John Manley

Irish student-athletes accounted for several victories at the Heptagonal and Big East Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships last weekend.

At the Heps meet in Princeton, N.J., Brown’s Enda Johnson, a junior from County Monaghan, won the men’s 1,500-meter run in 3:49.98. Teammate Peter Hollatz was little more than a second behind Johnson. Johnson also contested the 5,000 meters, finishing 14th in 15:09.11. Dartmouth’s Tom McArdle was the winner in 14:13.68.

Brown’s Damien Lowry finished seventh in the men’s 400 meters. The senior from Leopardstown, Co. Dublin, was timed in 49.01 seconds. Yale’s Jason Rife won the race in 47.75.

Yale’s Eoghan O’Dwyer, a Dublin freshman, took 10th place in the discus throw. His best effort traveled 41.36 meters. Navy’s Nathaniel Michael topped the competition with a best throw of 48.86 meters.

Penn won the team championship, with Brown finishing in fourth place and Yale in fifth.

The Big East convened in Piscataway, N.J., where St. John’s grad student Nicola Coffey won the women’s hammer throw with an NCAA provisional qualifying throw of 58.48 meters. Coffey, from Kells, Co. Meath, also took 15th place in the shot put, with a best heave of 12.24 meters.

On the track, Providence’s Roisin McGettigan won the women’s 3,000-meter steeplechase. The sophomore from Wicklow broke the tape in 10:24.35 and provisionally qualified for the NCAA Championship.

The Friars’ Kathryn Casserly, a junior from Galway, was third in the women’s 5,000 meters, with a time of 16:49.38. Virginia Tech’s Kristen Price won the race in 16:25.93.

Miami (Fla.) won the team title. St. John’s was seventh and Providence finished 13th.

Among the men, Providence senior Keith Kelly won the men’s 5,000 meters by more than 20 seconds over teammate junior Dermot Galvin. Kelly, who is from Drogheda, came in at 13:58.40, while Galvin, who hails from Kilrush, Co. Clare, was along in 14:19.82. The men’s 10,000 meters saw Paul Reilly run fifth in 30:04.98 and Ciaran Lynch take seventh in 30:20.79. Reilly is a junior from Loughrea, Co. Galway, and Lynch is a senior from Limerick. Notre Dame’s Ryan Shay led the field home in 29:17.61.

Georgetown’s men won the team championship, with Marcus O’Sullivan’s Villanova squad in second place. Providence placed 11th.

Golf

Freshman Martina Gillen led Kent State to a runaway victory in the Mid-American Conference Women’s Championship at Walden Ponds Golf Course in Indian Springs, Ohio. The Dubliner shot two-over-par 218 (71-77-70) for 54 holes for a two-stroke win in the individual standings. Kent defeated runner-up Ohio University by 49 strokes.

Toledo finished second in the Mid-American Conference Men’s Championship played at the Medallion Club in Westerville, Ohio. Sophomore Sean McTernan paced the Rockets by tying for second place. The Sligo resident shot two-under-par 286 (69-76-69-72) to finish five strokes behind Kent State’s Jon Mills. Toledo’s David Jones, a sophomore from Derry, had fourth place all to himself at 289 (74-75-70-70). Alan Murray, a junior from Bray, Co. Wicklow, tied for 33rd place at 307 (78-76-73-80). Kent had a 23-stroke cushion on Toledo.

Alabama-Birmingham’s Gr’me McDowell tied for 13th place in the Conference USA Championship, played at The Club at Hidden Creek in Navarre, Fla. McDowell, a junior from Portrush, Co. Antrim, shot seven-over-par 223 (73-75-75) for 54 holes to finish nine shots behind Houston’s Brad McIntosh, the medalist. UAB finished second in the team hunt, 16 strokes behind Houston. Although he did not threaten the leaders in this tournament, McDowell was named Conference USA Golfer of the Year for his steady performance throughout the fall and spring seasons.