Track and Field Wins Chicagoland Championships
4/7/2007 12:00:00 AM | TRACK AND FIELD
NAPERVILLE, Ill. - The DePaul men's and women's track and field teams swept the team titles this weekend at the Chicagoland Championships. The Blue Demons posted 18 first place performances and 17 BIG EAST Championship qualifying marks during Friday and Saturday's meet at North Central College.
The DePaul women scored 213 points and topped a field of 16 teams. The Blue Demon men posted 161 points and finished first out of 20 squads.
Stephanie Williams won the women's 100m dash with a BIG EAST qualifying time of 12.24 as she broke through the standard of 12.30. The sophomore sprinter also won the 200m dash crown with a time of 25.14.
DePaul's success in the women's sprinting events continued as Kyra Coffey took first place in the women's 400m dash with a time of 59.02 and the Blue Demons won the women's 4x100m relay with a time of 48.15.
Claire Duck won the women's 1,500m run with a time of 4:34.4. The junior middle distance runner easily met the BIG EAST standard of 4:38.44.
Gabriel Vargas won the men's 200m dash with a qualifying time of 22.10, while Gabe Harris won the men's 400m dash with a time of 49.79. Vargas broke through the 200m qualifying time of 22.18. The Blue Demons also won the men's 4x100m dash with a time of 43.00.
The men's distance events saw Anthony Becknek record a time of 9:26.3 to win the 3,000m steeplechase. The DePaul senior met the 9:34.24 BIG EAST qualifying standard.
After sweeping the men's and women's hammer throw titles on Friday, the Blue Demon throwers continued their success on Saturday with three more event crowns and five BIG EAST qualifying marks.
Tammy Burris won the women's shot put with a qualifying throw of 13.36m, surpassing the standard of 12.50m. Jamie Holifield won the women's discus with a distance of 43.71, while Burris followed in third with a throw of 42.24m. Both DePaul throwers exceeded the standard of 40.00m.
Brad Millar threw the javelin 54.72m to place first and eclipse the standard of 54.00m, while Curtis Hoag placed third in the men's discus with a mark of 44.73m. He surpassed the 42.40m standard.
DePaul's jumpers also enjoyed a successful Saturday with two first place finishes and two BIG EAST performances. Cynthia Edwards cleared 11.15m to win the women's triple jump, while Joe Strawder won the men's long jump with a qualifying mark of 6.95m. He also posted a triple jump of 13.86m, breaking through the qualifying distance of 13.36m.
The Blue Demons return to action on Saturday, April 14 at the University of Illinois Invitational and the Elmhurst College Invitational.
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