It was the best of times it was the worst of times - the latter was true for the Irish runners on the first day of the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Oregon. The day started with Róisín McGettigan (Providence College) simply not having any bounce in her legs after a season of steeplechasing. She tried in earnest to follow the pack to no avail. The Wicklow native placed ninth in her qualifying heat of 3,000m steeplechase running 10.54.37. A time of 10.16.66 was needed to advance to the final. McGettigan's personal best and Irish record is 10.20.99 which is a mere .99 off the standard created by the AAI for entry into the European Under-23 Championships set for mid-July in Amsterdam. It is the first year for the event in the championships and the European Athletics Association did not establish a standard allowing member countries up to four entries. No worries as a brilliant career is ahead for the sophomore.
The second race on tap for the Irish was the men's 10,000 metre final. Keith Kelly (Drogheda, Co. Louth), the reigning NCAA Cross Country Champion and member of the Irish World Cross team was seeded first in a stellar field with his 28.32.37 run on 24th April in Walnut, California. Kelly had been bothered by a virus for more than two weeks, which has no doubt affected his training and has shaken his confidence. With no athlete willing to seize the pacing duties, Notre Dame's Ryan Shay, the eventual winner, took out the race slowly. Kelly looked grand as he patiently ran behind the lad he's easily handled in competitions throughout his dazzling career at Providence. The early 29.15 pace was almost pedestrian and Kelly who usually has a powerful finish has no reason to grab the lead. Shay never injected pace but Kelly and many other accomplished runners mysteriously dropped back. With ten laps remaining, a distraught and weakened Kelly was left to fight for a top 10 finish and not the victory he had hoped to attain. Shay cruised, unchallenged in the last kilometre for a victory (29.05.44) with Kelly (Boyne AC) claiming a respectable yet depressing seventh place finish of 29.51.75.
Keith Kelly |
Róisín McGettigan |
NCAA Report |
Results of the NCAA Champs |