Bulldog Steeplechasers Come Up Short at Oregon Twilight
5/4/2013 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
EUGENE, Ore. - Gonzaga University's Lauren Bergam and the men's tandem of Nick Roche and Patrick Richie didn't have the results they were hoping for in the 3000 meter steeplechase Friday at the University of Oregon Twilight meet.
Bergam, the women's school record holder in 10:47.47 set earlier this year on the same Hayward Field track she competed at Friday, finished fourth in 10:51.71. Assistant coach Patty Ley was shooting for Bergam to be in the 10:35 range.
Roche, who set the men's record in 9:06.14 also at the Oregon Relays this season, finished fifth 9:19.78, while Richie, with a 9:12.76 PR this season, was seventh in 9:38.61. Jared Bassett of the University of Portland won in 8:57.94, a couple of seconds faster than the 3:59 Gonzaga head coach Pat Tyson was aiming for his duo to run entering the meet.
The trio will have one more opportunity to qualify for the NCAA West Preliminary next weekend when they compete at the West Coast Invitational in Salem, Ore. The top 48 times qualify for the NCAA West Preliminary, and Roche and Bergam would each have to drop about 10 seconds off their school record times to get in the hunt. The women's cutoff at 48 heading into this weekend was 10:27.13 while the men's was8:57.40.
