| Track team hitting its stride as spring arrives BY MIKE UNGER
Photos courtesy of AU Athletic Communications
Keira Carlstrom
Zaia Wharton
Awit Yohannes |
Keira Carlstrom accumulates Patriot League Female Track Athlete of the Week awards at the same rate old magazines pile up on most people’s coffee tables. At this point, her living room must be overrun with accolades. Carlstrom’s latest honor came two weeks ago after she won the 5,000 meter race at the Apr. 1 Terrapin Invitational, turning in the third-fastest time in AU history. It was an encouraging meet for the Eagles, who have high hopes this spring after recently completing a successful indoor season. “I feel really fortunate that we’ve stayed healthy,” said Coach Matt Centrowitz. “We’ve been working very, very hard as a team. In my history at AU, this group of men and women have worked as hard as anyone. Our times are improving, even early, now we’re just going into our championship mode.” On the men’s side, Brendan Fennell, Steve Hallinan, and newcomer Awit Yohannes have posted strong outdoor times. At the Navy Invitational on March 25, Fennell led a one-two-three AU finish in the 1,500 meters, edging his teammates Hallinan and Brian McCabe. One week later at the Duke Invitational, Hallinan clocked a personal best 3:47.00 in the 1,500, qualifying him for the NCAA East Regionals. Yohannes, a sophomore in his first season running for AU, won the 5,000 meter race at the Navy Invitational, and took home first place in the 1,500 at both the Terrapin Invitational and the Delaware Invitational on Apr. 8. Heading into last weekend’s Bison Outdoor Classic in Lewisburg, Pa., Yohannes had won every outdoor race he entered this year. “Awit transferred in from a junior college.” Centrowitz said. “He’s the only transfer student we have on the roster. He’s a very hard working guy. He didn’t come in the front door. It’s a good experience for our team.” While Yohannes and teammates Tony Taylor and Mary Moloney were winning races in Newark, Zaia Wharton was busy smashing a school record at the Duke meet in Durham, N.C. For the second straight year, Wharton erased the AU record for the 800 and replaced it with her own time. The senior from Elkins, W. Va., finished sixth overall in the race with a time of 2:09.79, which broke her school record by over a second and qualified her for the NCAA East Regional. Wharton was named Patriot League Female Track Athlete of the Week for her efforts, making it two weeks in a row that an Eagle has run away with the honor. “It was a major breakthrough for her,” Centrowitz told AUEagles.com. “Breaking the 2:10 barrier is as much mental as physical. Based on her training, I'm not surprised. Even faster times are ahead.” AU’s next meet is Saturday at the Eric Kloiber Metro Championships in Emmitsburg, Md. On Apr. 27, Carlstrom and Wharton head to Philadelphia to run in the prestigious Penn Relays. Centrowitz sees the results this spring as an indication that the program is taking a fundamental step forward. “In our last six years we’ve had 12 All-Americans,” Centrowitz said. “It’s giving [our current athletes] the confidence to build off those kids’ previous successes. They’re surpassing those they’ve measured themselves against.” AU Rowing to host Catholic, N.C. State Saturday will mark the first time a collegiate rowing event has ever been held on the Anacostia River—and the event is being hosted by American University Rowing. At 10 a.m. the Eagles will take on Catholic University and North Carolina State in an invitational race. “When you get up to a certain level of ability and size as a rowing club, most schools will start inviting schools to their home course to compete,” said Ashton Rogers, president of AU Rowing. “To a certain extent, it’s a sign of our success, our stability, and our prominence.” |
