2010 New Balance Collegiate Invitational

Villanova, Texas A & M Shine in 2010 New Balance Collegiate Invitational

The New Balance Collegiate Invitational is one of the premier indoor meets leading up to the NCAA championships. For many college athletes it represents their first experience in a championship-like atmosphere, with large crowds, tight quarters, and a two day, two stage trials and finals structure. LSU coach Dennis Shaver described that atmosphere in LSU’s Daily Reveille: “It’s a production,” Shaver said. “There will be a lot of noise. It’ll be jam packed with people. It’ll be an exciting meet for the athletes.”

This year’s meet did not disappoint. The highlights of day one included four US #1 records and a showdown at the finish of the women’s distance medley relay between defending champion Tennessee (anchored last year by Team New Balance’s Sarah Bowman) and Villanova. This year Villanova’s Sheila Reid ran a strong and physical finish to edge out Phoebe Wright of Tennessee for the win and an automatic qualifying time of 11:02.83. Said New Balance integrated marketing associate Dan Green, “I was standing on the finish line and couldn’t have called the winner from there.”

Flotrack caught up with the Villanova DMR team after the race, who partially credited the victory to Sheila’s self-described “pretty dirty sprinter’s lean” at the end:



In other exciting day one action, Ryan McDermott of the Duke mens DMR team came from behind at the fifth position in the final leg to take the win with a team 9:45.30 finish. McDermott and the Duke team prevailed even after Texas A & M’s leadoff stumbled and caused Duke’s Cory Nanni to fall off the track in the first leg. On the 800m leg for Duke was freshman decathlon phenom Curtis Beach, who went on to anchor the Blue Devils’ victorious 4 × 800m squad on day two in a meet record time of 7:26.94. To the crowd’s delight, Beach ran a stirring 1:47 for the final split.


Duke's McDermott crosses the finish line
(photo uploaded by WingedFootPhotos)Neely Spence from Division 2 Shippensburg, daughter of legendary runner and Shippensburg coach Steve Spence, proved too quick for all challengers in the Women’s 5k, running an impressive 16:13.01. A huge PR for Spence, her time puts her as a top contender for the indoor crown at the NCAA Championships in March.

On day two, Villanova athletes took both mens and womens miles. Nicole Schappert won the women’s mile at 4:49.42, which is an NCAA automatic qualifying time and the national record. Carl Mackenzie won the men’s mile and qualified at 4:04.33. Six day two victories and two school records led Texas A & M to a sweep of the team titles, with the Aggies’ women beating BYU 107-105, and the men over LSU 99-77. Zuhier Sharif broke the school record for the triple jump, setting a new record at 54-3.75 (16.55), and the mens 4 × 800 team’s second place 7:29.57 finish beat the school’s previous mark of 8:00.42.

For more coverage of the weekend’s events, check out articles and results at The Armory and video athlete interviews at Flotrack.