Track & Field Sends Four To USA Junior Championships

June 23, 2009

MILWAUKEE -- Marquette track and field athletes Lauren Benjamin, Kate Horan, Patrick Keeley and Courtney Kelly will take part in the 2009 USA Junior Outdoor Track & Field Championships June 25-28 at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore. Live video of the Junior Nationals and National Championships will be available at www.usatf.org as well as nationally televised on June 26-28 on ESPN and NBC.

"We are excited for a very talented group of four athletes," said head track and field head coach Bert Rogers. "It is good to see four of our recruits from this past year being able to compete at this level. They have been training hard and are looking forward to big things in Eugene."

Lauren Benjamin, who competed as a multi-event athlete this year for MU, will participate in the javelin after posting a qualifying distance of 40.71 meters (133 feet, 7 inches) at the Cardinal Twilight on May 15.

"It is a new event for Lauren and she definitely has the arm for it," Rogers said. "It's been exciting to see her do well in the event and qualify for the meet. The other qualifiers are competing in their expected events so it is a little more surprising for her to be there."

Benjamin also is pleased with her unexpected success in the event.

"It went really well, a lot better than expected," Benjamin said of her freshman season. "I wasn't really sure what I would end up doing well in. High school was a lot different than college so I was kind of nervous, but it was a very easy transition. I never did javelin in high school because I never competed in outdoor track. This (qualifying in the javelin) was a big surprise, which was nice.

"I'm excited to see all of the people who run at Nationals. It will be nice to see all those faces and see the level at which really good athletes compete."

Kate Horan and Courtney Kelly will both compete in the 3,000-meter steeplechase after being paced most of the season in the event by MU's NCAA Mideast Regional qualifier Jayne Grebinski.

Kelly recorded a qualifying time of 11:04.30 at the BIG EAST Conference Championships and Horan registered a time of 11:05.14 at the Duke Invitational to qualify for the event.

Keeley also recorded a qualifying time at the Duke Invitational in the 10,000-meter run with a mark of 32:36.09.

"Patrick has been working hard and is as strong as he has been since he has arrived here," Rogers said.

The meet will serve as the selection meet for the 2009 Pan American Junior Athletics Championships, held July 31 and Aug. 1-2 in Port of Spain, Trinidad. For an individual to qualify for the Pan American Championships they must finish in the top two of their respective event.

Spencer Agnew, a 2009 recruit from Fort Atkinson, Wis., will also compete in the meet in the 5,000 meters.

National Television Schedule

ESPN

June 26, 8-10 p.m. ET

June 27, 7:30-9:30 p.m. ET

NBC

June 28, 4-6 p.m. ET

2009 USA Junior Outdoor Track & Field Championships

Sat., June 27, 2 p.m.

Lauren Benjamin (Javelin)

6:55 p.m.

Patrick Keeley (10,000 meters)