Guarino second after mile prelims
Sports Information Department – 112 Dods Hall
Phone (716) 673-3100 / Fax (716) 673-3136
CONTACT: Jerry Reilly,
Sports Information Director
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Track & Field
LINKS: MEET SCHEDULE/ENTRIES/RESULTS/WATCH LIVE
GREENCASTLE, Ind. -- Fredonia State junior Nick Guarino (Bergen/Byron-Bergen) ran a 4:12.78 mile Saturday during preliminaries at the NCAA Division III Track & Field championships at DePauw University.
Guarino, the top seed coming into the race, was second in his heat, .16 seconds behind Matt Turlip of New York University. Those two and six others will run in the final at 2 p.m. Saturday.
"He needed to finish in the top three in his heat to advance," Blue Devil head coach Liz Aldrich said of Guarino's performance Friday. "He ran to finish in the top three."
----------
Guarino was named United States Track and Field and Cross County Coaches Association's Atlantic Region Male Track Athlete of the Year. He received the award Thursday in Greencastle, Ind. He is pictured at left with Blue Devil assistant track and field and head cross county coach Jeff Beck.
Guarino ran the the fastest time in D-III this indoor season, a 4:09.10 (converted) Feb. 13 at Boston University's Valentine Invitational. He is one of six men who enter this weekend's event with a time of 4:11 or under.
In addition, Guarino won the ECAC Division III 800-meter championship last weekend with an NCAA qualifying time of 1:53.08. He and his coaches decided to forego a chance to run in the 800 this weekend in order to concentrate on his quest for a national title in the mile.
This Atlantic Region award is the second this winter for Guarino, who was named the SUNYAC Male Indoor Track Athlete of the Year after winning and meet records the mile and 800 meters Feb. 27 at Hobart and William Smith colleges.