TRK | Wallingford Breaks School Record for Second Time in Two Weeks

Keon Wallingford wasted little time in breaking his own school record in the 3,000 metres. The North Bay native was part of a small contingent of Laurentian's varsity track and field team that travelled to Boston this past weekend to compete at two NCAA competitions.

At the Bruce Lehane Scarlett and White Invitational hosted by Boston University, Wallingford shaved another four seconds off his own school record in the 3,000 metres with a finishing time of 8 minutes, 21.25 seconds.  Just two weeks ago, Wallingford eclipsed the school record in the event that had stood for 50 years.

At the Showdown at the Heights, hosted by Boston College at the Track at New Balance, the Vees had two top ten finishes in the women's 800 metres.  Sarah Booth (Peterborough) placed eight in a time of 2:20.36.  Teammate Kristen Mrozewski (Sudbury) placed tenth in a time of 2:21.77.

"With it being a large field, the race was really congested at the start with a lot of jostling and bumping for the first half", noted Wallingford.  "But once things settled in I was able to find my rhythm, move closer to the front and push really hard to the finish.  Tactically, that was the hardest race I've ever run", Wallingford added.

"Keon's race actually played out much differently than we thought it would", commented Vees head coach, Darren Jermyn.  "Normally these races get out very fast and athletes need to fight to hang on to the pace, but Keon ended up running the second half of the race much faster than the first and he definitely showed he can kick for home from a long way out.  That will serve him well at the OUA Championships in a few weeks", Jermyn added.

The Vees will next compete at the Carleton Last Chance Meet, February 14 -15, in Ottawa. This will be the final meet of the OUA Track & Field regular season prior to the OUA Championships in Windsor on February 21-22.