May 24, 2013

Complete Results

GREENSBORO, N.C. - For the first time in 27 years, Saint Joseph's men's track will be represented at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships as graduate student distance standout Kevin McDonnell took sixth place out of 48 runners in the 10,000m on Thursday evening at the 2013 NCAA Division I Track and Field East Regional Preliminary Round at Irwin Belk Track inside of Aggie Stadium, hosted by North Carolina A&T State University. In a time of 29:59.82, McDonnell becomes one of 12 finalists to advance to the 2013 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships that will be held in Eugene, Ore. from June 5-8.

McDonnell becomes the first male runner in either indoor or outdoor track to qualify for the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships since Steve Ave qualified in both indoor (1000m) and outdoor (1500m) in 1986.

Entering the event ranked 10th in the East Region, McDonnell and the additional 47 runners in the event began the race in the pouring rain. It started off as a slow, tactical race, but with eight laps to go, it became a quick 3200m. McDonnell ran a 9:03 for the 3200m and 4:28 for his last 1600m en route to taking lead of the pack with three laps remaining. From there, he earned the sixth-place finish to qualify for the NCAA Championships.

No stranger to the preliminaries scene, the three-time NCAA East Regional participant took home a 23rd-place finish in 2011 and 19th-place finish in 2012. McDonnell holds Saint Joseph's record in the 10,000m with a time of 29:16.01, set at Bucknell's Bison Outdoor Classic back on May 13.

McDonnell will compete on the national stage on Thursday, June 6 at 7:15 p.m.

Sophomore Logan Mohn will represent Saint Joseph's in the 3000m steeplechase this evening at 9:30 p.m. Mohn will run in Heat 3.

Complete List of East Region Qualifiers

1 Paul Katam                JR UNC-Greensboro        29:50.22Q
2 Michael Fout              SR Florida State         29:54.22Q
3 Andrew Springer           JR Georgetown            29:57.14Q
4 Michael Franklin          SR Princeton             29:57.31Q
5 Chris Bendtsen            JR Princeton             29:59.15Q
6 Kevin McDonnell           SR St. Joseph's (Pa.)    29:59.82Q
7 Thomas Porter             JR Virginia              30:00.23Q
8 Mike Murphy               SR Columbia              30:00.54Q
9 Zachary Mayhew            SR Indiana               30:01.05Q
10 Breandan O'Neill         SR Florida State         30:01.28Q
11 Thijs Nijhuis            SO Eastern Kentucky      30:01.70Q
12 Maksim Korolev           JR Harvard               30:02.08Q