Thursday, May 16, 2013

Outdoor track: What's next ...

The 2013 collegiate outdoor track season for the Marist College Track Family has officially come to an end. The longshot hope of Quimes DelaCruz earning a spot in the NCAA East Regional ended with the official declaration/start list. In order to earn a spot at the Regional, an athlete needs to be among the top 48 declared athletes in their event. On the descending order list, Quimes was 58th, meaning he needed 10 athletes to scratch or not declare. This did not happen. And thus ends an illustrious, memorable and certainly colorful career for the man with the big name and the big game. From start to finish, Arquimedes Jesus DelaCruz was a force, in each and every of the 12 seasons in which he competed. We will never forget his memorable accomplishments.

Next month, we do have three athletes (rising sophomores) who will be competing at the USATF Junior Championships in Des Moines -- site of Quimes' Junior All-America performance in the 10,000, three years ago! The following athletes have qualified and will compete out at Drake:

--Kristen Traub: Qualified in the 1,500 and 3,000. Most likely will focus on 1,500.
--Johnny Lee: Qualified for (and will run in) the 10,000.
--Ryan Colabella: Qualified for (and will run in) the 10,000.

As always, we look forward to what amounts to a midsummer trip for us. For now, we will reflect on a long but strong 2012-2013 year, and maybe catch up on some things at home while we prepare to say goodbye to the Class of 2013 and send them off into the real world, where we know they will make a special mark.

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