Horace, Olson, Peters Set for NCAA East Prelims
May 28, 2014 | Men's Track & Field
May 28, 2014
Schedule of Events | Start Lists | Live Results | Championship Central
Five members of the Boston University women's track & field team will compete at the 2014 NCAA Division I Women's Outdoor Track and Field Preliminary Championships, held May 29-31 at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville.
Sophomores Reuben Horace and Alec Olson will join senior Rich Peters at the meet as three of the eight Terriers to compete this weekend. Five members of the women's squad - Gemma Acheampong, Monica Adler, Allison Barwise, Nikko Brady and Rosa Moriello - will also represent BU in Jacksonville.
"I’m extremely excited," Director of Track & Field and Cross Country Robyne Johnson said. "It’s always a good sign to have eight kids move on to the preliminary round and have the opportunity to represent the university at NCAAs. We’re having a great year and we’re proud of our kids. Everyone has put in a lot of work to get to this point."
The top 12 athletes from each event at the end of the weekend will advance to the 2014 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Eugene, Oregon, on June 11-14. Last year, three Terriers advanced to Eugene out of the prelims.
"We’re looking forward to big things out of all our kids," Johnson said. "We have some really good shots at this. There’s going to be great competition down here as always and we’re going to have to put our best foot forward. You have to get it done and make sure you’re competitive to get those treasured 12 spots to get to the NCAAs. This is the one meet that I’ll tell these kids ‘It’s okay to be 12th,’ because that gets you into the final meet."
It will be a varied group at the prelims, as eight competitors will compete in nine events, including sprints, hurdles, throws, jumps, mid-distance and distance.
"It speaks well to my philosophy about track & field, which is that if you have a track & field meet, which is 21 events, you should cover all of them," Johnson said. "That’s been what I like to do with my team. It makes for a well-rounded team and it’s important if you want to have a true track team, and that’s what I think we have."
Horace will be making his second straight appearance at the East prelims after qualifying as a freshman last year. He had a personal-best toss of 60.61 meters in the hammer throw at the IC4A Championships and has improved his mark over each of the last three meets at which he has competed, including the Patriot League Championships, where he was victorious.
"He’s done a great job this year," Johnson said. The hammer, like other field events, is so technical. It takes a lot of work and a lot of repetition, and that’s why you see people get better as they get older. That’s what we’ve seen with Reuben."
Olson has shined in the 3,000m steeplechase this season, culminating with a personal-best time of 8:54.70 at the IC4A Championships. He is the Patriot League champion in that event and has improved upon his previous-best time in each meet this year.
“The steeplechase is hard to train for because we don’t have a steeplechase pit on campus so we don’t get to do that a lot except in the races," Johnson said. "It’s great that Alec found his niche and he keeps improving every single weekend."
Peters will be one of the favorites in the 1,500m run as he hopes to return to the NCAA Championships for the third straight year. His time of 3:44.68 in the 1,500m run at the Patriot League Championships is his only eligible time of the season, though he did run 3:38.83 at the USATF High Performance Distance Classic on May 15. That time is just one one-hundredth of a second behind the top-seeded time in the region (3:38.82), meaning many eyes will be on him in Jacksonville.
"“I think he’s handled the pressure pretty well," Johnson said. "He respects all his other competitors and he knows that he’s good and a lot of other guys are good too. All his competitors know he ran 3:38 and know what he’s capable of. For him, it’s just going to be putting himself in the right situation when it comes time to kick and hopefully be there and finish first.”
