April 28, 2007

Results

WASHINGTON - For the second straight year, the American University men's track team broke the school record in the 4 x Mile at the Penn Relays, finishing fifth among the nation's best distance running teams Saturday afternoon in a time of 16:27.14. The team of Awit Yohannes, Brendan Fennell, Conor Lanz and Steve Hallinan combined for an average mile split of 4:06.8, just over five seconds back of the University of Texas.

In the first major relay leg of his career, Yohannes led off 4:09.5, just strides off the leaders' pace. Fennell moved the Eagles up on the second leg, running 4:02.3 - the fastest mile split by an AU runner ever at Penn and the fifth-fastest overall in the race. By the second handoff, the race's top six teams were bunched within a second of one another. Lanz split 4:10.6 for his leg, falling off the pace of the lead four and handing off steps behind Oregon in sixth. Hallinan ran a great anchor of 4:04.7, moving the Eagles up to fourth with 600m to go and almost gaining contact with the lead three. Michigan's anchor repassed Hallinan (who had made up five seconds from the handoff) and pulled away for fourth, while the AU junior held off late charges from Oregon and Iona to take fifth.

The time of 16:27.14 is almost seven seconds faster than the previous school record of 16:34.0 from 2006. Fennell and Hallinan's sub 4:05 splits was the first time two AU runners have run that fast on the same relay. The fifth-place finish ties American's 2003 team as the school's best finish in the 4 x Mile at the Relays.

With its final competition prior to the Patriot League Championships under its belt, AU now heads into its championship phase of the season with the PL Championships at Lehigh next weekend, beginning Friday.