University of Richmond Athletics
University of Richmond
Atlantic 10 Indoor Championships
Benford Nabs Two Golds Over A-10 Championship Weekend
02/19/2011 | Women's Track & Field
Feb. 19, 2011
Kingston, R.I. - The Richmond women's track & field team took 11th and the men's team finished ninth as the 2011 Atlantic 10 Indoor Track & Field Championship came to a close on Saturday in Kingston, R.I.
Redshirt-senior Andrew Benford was the highlight of the weekend with two first-place finishes in both the 3,000m and 5,000m runs. On Friday, Benford completed the 5,000m run in 14:32.21. Today, Benford finished the 3,000m run in 8:18.27, followed by sophomores Levi Grandt in 11th (8:38.11) and Chris York in 15th (8:51.10).
In the men's 55m dash finals, senior Tremayne Graham placed fourth with a time of 6.51. He also placed seventh in the 200m dash finals with a time of 22.53.
Senior Matt Mello came in eighth-place in the 800m run finals (1:56.45). As for the men's one mile run, sophomore Jason Skipper placed 10th with a time of 4:24.11, sophomore Kyle Ragan came in 17th (4:31.59) and freshman Ellis Mays finished 20th (4:37.12).
"Andrew Benford, Matt Mello performed extremely well this weekend," said men's head coach Steve Taylor. "They competed with intensity and both Graham and Mello set personal bests in the process. Benford was exceptional, especially give how sick he was all week. The flu hit him hard last Monday and all week he struggled with it. However, he did not let that become an excuse. He did what he needed to be mentally ready to compete and then he raced with heart and competitive desire. When it was time during the races to 'drop the hammer' he did."
Rhode Island won the men's competition, racking up 158.50 points. Charlotte took second-place (155.50), followed by Fordham (88), UMass (87) and Temple (87) in the top-five. Richmond placed ninth overall with a total of 35 points.
On the women's side, freshman Alli Mannon came in fourth in the 1,000m finals with a time of 2:56.29. Senior Jenn Ennis placed seventh in the one mile run (5:00.45), and senior X'auntasia Johnson finished third in the women's triple jump with a mark of 12.05m (39-06.50).
"I'm excited about the championship performances freshman Alli Mannon had in the 1000M final and 4x800M relay leg which put us into the lead," said women's head coach X'auntasia Johnson had a great effort in the triple jump today placing 3rd and setting a personal best (39'06.50"). She jumped well all weekend and showed her experience here in these events."
Taylor went on to say, "Our overall team finish is not where we expect to be with our women. We'll expect to see the necessary improvements as we move into outdoor season to better our team standing in May."
With 161 points, Dayton claimed the women's title, followed by Charlotte (159), Rhode Island (105), Duquesne (66), and St. Louis (65) to round out the top five. Richmond closed out the two-day competition with 23 points, good enough for eleventh-place.
Steve Taylor said, "We have a small team but it's critically important that our athletes build throughout the season and semester to be at their best at the championships. There were areas that we felt we could do better and we'll review those making sure we are better and improved as a team by the outdoor championships. Most of our team will turn their attention to the outdoor season while Andrew will be racing at Notre Dame on March 4, looking for the NCAA mark in the 5,000m."
Make sure to check out the 2011 A-10 Indoor T&F Championship 
Photo Gallery.
