Track & Field: Mullarkey, Thibodeau Burn Rubber at Lions Invite
EWING, N.J. - Freshman Caitlin Mullarkey and senior Paul Thibodeau each ran tenth in their respective 800 meter races as Swarthmore competed at the 2006 Lions Invite held at the College of New Jersey on Saturday afternoon.
In the men's 800, Thibodeau led a quartet of Garnet runners with a time of 1:57.55. - the fastest run by a Garnet male this season and good for top ten all-time. Junior Vernon Chaplin and senior Keefe Keeley also ran strong in the 800, finishing right behind Thibodeau in 12th (1:58.10) and 16th (1:58.97), respectively.
Mullarkey has raced at various distances this spring, all with different degrees of sucess. In her first try at the women's 800 event, the freshman posted a time of 2:23.38 to finish in tenth place out of 49 runners. Senior Emily Wistar also finished among the top 20 in the same event, crossing the line in a time of 2:27.11 for 16th position.
Freshman Dan Hodson ran to sixth in the 3,000 meter steeplechase with a time of 10:23.40, just four second outside the top-ten list. The Garnet men also placed three runners in the top 20 of the 1,500 meter race - Ross Weller '08 (15th - 4:08.50), Jon Shoop '08 (17th - 4:09.60), and Adam Hunt '06 (20th - 4:11.52).
The Garnet are preparing for the upcoming 2006 Centennial Conference Track & Field Championship, set to start on Friday, May 5 and run through Sunday, May 7.