Eckstein, Clarke lead Hopkins Track and Field

Two members of the
Hopkins women's indoor
track and field team, sophomore
Holly Clarke and
freshman Hannah Eckstein
traveled to Grinnell
College in Grinnell, Iowa
this weekend to compete
in the NCAA Indoor Track
and Field Championships.
Both women were selected
to run in the 5,000 meter
event last Saturday night.
Eckstein finished fifth and
earned All-American honors
with a time of 17:18.72.
Clarke placed eleventh
with a time of 17:50.05.
Prior to the race, Eckstein
was ranked third in
the country and Clarke
was ranked twelfth.
Clarke had qualified
just this past weekend
in an exciting win at the
ECAC Regional Championships.
The sophomore
won the race with a time
of 17:15.06, a personal best
by 37 seconds. She was
ranked tenth in the ECAC
field prior to taking the
event by storm a week ago.
"It is an amazing experience
to be able to race
alongside your teammate
and the other top girls in
the country," said Clarke.
"I was hoping to make All-
American honors, but my
race did not go as well as
I had hoped. We went out
pretty slow in the first mile
then two of the Wartburg
girls started hammering
the last two miles. [The two girls from Wartburg]
ended up going one and
two in the race. Hannah
represented Hopkins well.
. .Hopefully she and I will
be able to come back even
stronger in the 10k and 5k
at Outdoor Nationals in
California!"
The NCAA Championships
marks the conclusion
of a prolific indoor track
and field season. The women's
team won the Centennial
Conference Championships
while the men's
team placed second. In addition,
Head Coach Bobby
Van Allen was named Mideast
Region US Track and Field Coach of the Year for
the women's side by the US
Track and Field and Cross
Country Coaches Association
(USTFCCA) after leading
Hopkins to a 25th place
national ranking in the
USTFCCA Poll.
Despite the success
achieved in the winter, the
men's and women's teams
have already gone back to
work as the spring outdoor
track and field season gets
underway very soon. Both
teams will compete in multiple
meets during March
and April, beginning on
Mar. 30th with the Raleigh
Relays.