Temple University Athletics
Friday, February 27
New York, N.Y.
All Day
Temple University
vs
American Athletic Conference Championships
Photo by: Paige Ozaroski
Track and Field Heads to American Athletic Conference Indoor Championships this Weekend
2.24.15 | Women's Track and Field
PHILADELPHIA – Temple's track and field team will have their top athletes competing at the 2015 American Athletic Conference Indoor Championships this weekend. The meet will take place Friday, Feb. 27 and Saturday, Feb. 28 at the New Balance Track & Field Center at the Armory in New York.
Live video and live results will be available for the entire meet and can be accessed through the links provided. Coverage is free of charge and is available on desktop, mobile and tablet devices. Fans can also follow along on Twitter at @AmericanXCTrack or with the Instagram handle @American_Conf.
This will be the first time going to the American Athletic Conference Championships for first-year head coach Elvis Forde and he is looking forward to it.
"I'm excited to see how we stack up overall from top to bottom in the conference," said Forde. "We've had a lot of personal-bests throughout the course of the year so we will see if that translates to places and points from a conference perspective. With who we've got going this weekend, we're excited to go and see them perform."
The Owls currently have multiple athletes with top-10 conference marks heading into the meet. Junior Blanca Fernandez's mile time of 4:40.60 and 3,000m time of 9:16.24 are top marks in The American this season. Senior Kiersten LaRoche's pentathlon score of 3692 (adjusted for track size) is second-best in the conference. But, Forde said what is most important is where they end up on the final day of the meet.
"I always say that where you are right now doesn't really matter," said Forde. "It's about how you are going to perform the day of the championship. We've sent out the message that the bar has been raised for everyone. I know the individuals that do go are going to represent us well and we hope that means us in the finals and scoring points. That is what our expectations are for this weekend."
At last year's inaugural American Athletic Conference Indoor Championships, Temple's top finisher was LaRoche, who placed sixth in the pentathlon. Other top-10 performances for the Owls included Jenna Dubrow's 10th place finish in the mile, Jamila Janneh's ninth-place mark in the triple jump and a ninth-place finish for Jimmia McCluskey in the long jump.
"Collectively I'm looking for some people to step up," said Forde. "When they look back from where they were last year, my expectation is that they surpass that, whether it is by points or place."
On the first day of the meet, Temple will begin competition in the pentathlon at 9 a.m Friday morning. Forde is looking to one of his seniors to get the momentum started for the rest of the team.
"The first order of business is going to be whatever finals are on Friday," said Forde. "We have Kiersten in the pentathlon early morning and she can set the tempo for the rest of the kids in terms of how she finishes up. What she does can really drive what happens during the rest of the championships and I'm looking forward for her to do just that."
Forde's advice to his team going into the weekend is just to have confidence, believe in the things that have prepared you to this point and go execute to the best of your abilities.
"All I am encouraging my athletes to do is to want to be somebody," said Forde. "This is about competing against the best and if you don't want to beat somebody from the next school or your teammates in order to advance, then that's not the type of person we want for this program. Be a competitor and good things will happen."
American Championship Central Website | Championship Schedule | Live Video: Feb. 27 | Live Video: Feb. 28
Live video and live results will be available for the entire meet and can be accessed through the links provided. Coverage is free of charge and is available on desktop, mobile and tablet devices. Fans can also follow along on Twitter at @AmericanXCTrack or with the Instagram handle @American_Conf.
This will be the first time going to the American Athletic Conference Championships for first-year head coach Elvis Forde and he is looking forward to it.
"I'm excited to see how we stack up overall from top to bottom in the conference," said Forde. "We've had a lot of personal-bests throughout the course of the year so we will see if that translates to places and points from a conference perspective. With who we've got going this weekend, we're excited to go and see them perform."
The Owls currently have multiple athletes with top-10 conference marks heading into the meet. Junior Blanca Fernandez's mile time of 4:40.60 and 3,000m time of 9:16.24 are top marks in The American this season. Senior Kiersten LaRoche's pentathlon score of 3692 (adjusted for track size) is second-best in the conference. But, Forde said what is most important is where they end up on the final day of the meet.
"I always say that where you are right now doesn't really matter," said Forde. "It's about how you are going to perform the day of the championship. We've sent out the message that the bar has been raised for everyone. I know the individuals that do go are going to represent us well and we hope that means us in the finals and scoring points. That is what our expectations are for this weekend."
At last year's inaugural American Athletic Conference Indoor Championships, Temple's top finisher was LaRoche, who placed sixth in the pentathlon. Other top-10 performances for the Owls included Jenna Dubrow's 10th place finish in the mile, Jamila Janneh's ninth-place mark in the triple jump and a ninth-place finish for Jimmia McCluskey in the long jump.
"Collectively I'm looking for some people to step up," said Forde. "When they look back from where they were last year, my expectation is that they surpass that, whether it is by points or place."
On the first day of the meet, Temple will begin competition in the pentathlon at 9 a.m Friday morning. Forde is looking to one of his seniors to get the momentum started for the rest of the team.
"The first order of business is going to be whatever finals are on Friday," said Forde. "We have Kiersten in the pentathlon early morning and she can set the tempo for the rest of the kids in terms of how she finishes up. What she does can really drive what happens during the rest of the championships and I'm looking forward for her to do just that."
Forde's advice to his team going into the weekend is just to have confidence, believe in the things that have prepared you to this point and go execute to the best of your abilities.
"All I am encouraging my athletes to do is to want to be somebody," said Forde. "This is about competing against the best and if you don't want to beat somebody from the next school or your teammates in order to advance, then that's not the type of person we want for this program. Be a competitor and good things will happen."
American Championship Central Website | Championship Schedule | Live Video: Feb. 27 | Live Video: Feb. 28
Players Mentioned
Distance
/ Women's Track and Field
Mid-Distance
/ Women's Track and Field
Jumps
/ Women's Track and Field
Mulits
/ Women's Track and Field
Sprints/Jumps
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