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Cedarville, OH — Looking to gain momentum heading into the upcoming NAIA Outdoor Track & Field National Championships — as well as taking a final grasp at qualifying for varying championship events — the Goshen College women’s track and field squad sent a limited number of athletes to Friday’s Cedarville University Qualifier, the program’s final intercollegiate competition prior to the national championships.
The Leafs were able to come away with first, second and third place performances in three different events, but failed to come up with — perhaps — the biggest possible prize at the meet. Sophomore Laura Harnish came just a second away from qualifying for national competition in the 800-meter run, the fourth time this season Harnish has posted a time that close to the cut-off mark. Harnish finished third in the event Friday in a time of 2:18.40, but again could not close in on the national qualifying time. As a result, Harnish will miss the outdoor national championships in two weeks, a meet that has evaded her as a collegian (Harnish competed in the NAIA Indoor Track & Field National Championships in both her freshman and sophomore seasons).
“We only had a few athletes competing (at the Cedarville Qualifier meet) and all came out performing well,” said Rick Clark, Goshen head coach. “The big downer of the meet was Laura just missing the national qualifying mark in the 800 again. She ran her second-best time of the season at 2:18.40, but unfortunately she once again just missed the (national qualifying) mark. This is very disappointing for Laura since she has been within that mark four times this year. She tried going out harder on the front end of the race and still came up just a little bit short.”
Harnish’s disappointment aside, Clark received stellar performances from freshman Tina Peters and sophomore Deanna Kronk, as the duo continued to bolster their approach for national competition. Peters — currently the number-one ranked 3,000-meter race walker in the country — posted her second-best time on Friday, taking first place in a 15:21.11 clip. Kronk, meanwhile, captured second in the hammer throw (155 feet, 7 inches) and fifth in the discus (126 feet, 4 inches) posting her second-best toss in the former. Kronk will participate in the hammer throw in the national championships, arriving as the 10th-ranked athlete in that event.
“Tina won the 3,000 race walk with her second-best time of the season,” Clark said. “Her top time of 15:11.51 continues to have her seeded at the top of all NAIA athletes going into the championships. Deanna also had her second-best throw of the season in the hammer, which should help with her confidence for the championships.”
Freshman Jessica Steil was the only other Goshen athlete to participate in the Cedarville meet, finishing 12th in the discus (89 feet, 6 inches) and 14th in the hammer (91 feet, 10 inches.) No team scores were kept at the meet. For a complete list of individual results and times, click here.
Goshen will next take part in the NAIA Outdoor Track & Field National Championships on May 24-26 at Fresno Pacific University in Fresno, California. Competing for the Leafs will be Peters in the 3,000-meter race walk, Kronk in the hammer throw, senior Petrana Petkova in the 5,000-meter and 10,000-meter runs and senior Laura Herr in the marathon. Junior Jake Gillette will compete in the marathon for the Goshen men’s side. Sophomore Abri Houser qualified for competition in the 100-meter hurdles event, but will miss the ’07 national championships due to currently studying abroad.
Check back to this website for the most up-to-date information and recaps of Goshen’s national championships performances. For complete details regarding the national championships, click here. A schedule of events that Goshen athletes will be participating in appears below.
2007 NAIA Outdoor Track & Field National Championships
(Goshen athlete schedule)
• Thursday, May 24
10 a.m. - Women's Hammer Trials/Finals (Kronk)
8:30 p.m. - Women's 10,000-meter Finals (Petkova)
• Friday, May 25
1:40 p.m. - Women's 3,000-meter Race Walk Finals (Peters)
6:40 p.m. - Women's 5,000-meter Semi-Finals (Petkova)
• Saturday, May 26
6 a.m. - Men's/Women's Marathon (Herr, Gillette)
5:10 p.m. - Women's 5,000-meter Finals (Petkova)
* All events will take place at Cockerham Track, Fresno Pacific University
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  Freshman Tina Peters
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