Xavier Concludes Regular-Season Action at the SPIRE DI Invitational

CINCINNATI - Xavier indoor track and field continues its season at the SPIRE DI Invitational on Feb. 9-10. The two-day meet is being held at the SPIRE Institute in Geneva, Ohio.

SPIRE DI INVITATIONAL

Date: Feb. 9-10
Location: Geneva, Ohio | SPIRE Institute
Meet Schedule: bit.ly/2EPmbmD
Heat Sheets: N/A
Live Results: bit.ly/2GWzWjX
Watch Live: bit.ly/2GZ2n0L

PARTICIPATING TEAMS
Akron, Buffalo, Calumet-St. Joesph, Dayton (M), Fresno State, Furman (W), Geneva (W), George Mason (M), IUPUI (M), Kent State, Loyola, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Middle Tennessee State (M), Navy (M), Nevada (W), Ohio State, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Robert Morris (W), Rutgers, Shawnee State (M), Toledo (W), Toronto, Warren Howland (M), Western Ontario (M), York, Youngstown State

BIG EAST WEEKLY HONORS

• Senior Madeline Britton was named the BIG EAST Track Athlete of the Week for her performance at the Meyo Invitational and Akron Invitational last weekend. Britton posted a time of 16:53.10 in the 5,000-meter run at the Meyo Invitational on Feb. 2, the fastest time in the event this season by a BIG EAST athlete. She placed fifth in the event.

• The Bay Village, Ohio, native also competed in the one-mile run on Saturday at the Akron Invitational, placing fourth in the race in a personal-best time of 5:02.86.

LAST TIME OUT

• Xavier track and field wrapped up action at the Meyo Invitational and Akron Invitational last weekend.

• Grant Staplenton paced the men in Arkon with a first-place finish in the 800-meter run, posting a personal-best time of 1:54.37. Madeline Britton placed fourth in the one-mile run in a personal-best time of 5:02.86, while Amanda Cusimano placed fifth in the 3,000-meter run (10:36.62).

• Xavier sent three female distance runners to the Meyo Invitational with Madeline Britton pacing the group with a fifth-place finish in the 5,000-meter run. Jenna Clayworth placed 13th in the event (17:23.32), while Allison Sinning took 16th (17:31.15).

QUOTING COACH ORNER

TEAM PREVIEW
"SPIRE should be a good meet for us as a team. We built some momentum at the Akron meet last week and if they're able to maintain it this week I think it will set us up perfectly for the Indoor BIG EAST Championship. In general the focus will be on coming together more as a team and individually the focus will be on earning a spot for BIG EAST."

MEN'S PREVIEW
"In the men's 300m Luke English will get an opportunity to break the school record held by Nick Williams. We don't get to run this event very often so this will be the last chance for Luke to break the record during his freshman year. In the remaining sprinting events, the duo of Polk and Taylor will look to get things going in what will be their last chance before BIG EAST to move up the leaderboard. Polk, who's been a little off in the long jump, will need to put a complete performance together to gain some confidence before BIG EAST. On the distance side, Grant Stapleton has performed really well in his last three races. If he gets in the fast section of the 800 he should have a chance to move up into the top five in the conference and challenge for a win."

WOMEN'S PREVIEW
"The trio of Britton, Clayworth and Sinning will attempt to push one another to a sub 9:50 performance in the 3,000m. All three have the fitness to do it and it should be an exciting race to see who can dip under. In the 5,000 we should see Onders, Cusimano and Prial break the 18-minute barrier for the first time. Both Onders and Prial have been close in the past and Cusimano has looked great in practice over the past few weeks. This would be a huge milestone for all three but one that won't come easy. Much like in the men's 300, the women's 300 meter school record could go down as well. Sheridan Davenport has been battling through a hamstring issue but if she's at her best the record is definitely in jeopardy."

UP NEXT

Xavier returns to action at the BIG EAST Championships on Feb. 23-24 in Staten Island, N.Y.

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