HAVERFORD, Pa. – NCAA qualifiers Katie Sullivan and Nicole Giannetti have been honored as all-region selections for the 2017 outdoor track & field season. Both runners earned their recognition in the event that they will represent the Fords at the NCAA Division III Championship later this week.
The top five individuals in each event from each region – as well the region's top-3 relay teams – earned all-region distinction. The regions used for this award – Atlantic, Central, Great Lakes, Mideast, Midwest, New England, South/Southeast and West – match those used during cross country and the indoor track & field season. Both Giannetti and Sullivan earned All-Mideast recognition across each of the three running seasons this academic year.
Sullivan finished the year ranked second in the 1,500 meters throughout the Mideast Region. The Centennial Conference Champion in that event during the spring, her best performance came at Swarthmore's final qualifying meet where she crossed the line in a time of 4:31.63. That time currently ranks second in school history behind former teammate Nora Weathers '16. She will enter the national championship as the No. 10 seed in that event.
Giannetti finished the year ranked second in the Mideast Region in the steeplechase. She too set her best time of the season at the Swarthmore Final Qualfying meet when she finished in a time of 10:55.64. She placed second at the Centennial Conference Championship in that event and earned the final qualifying spot in the field of 22 entrants with her personal best last week. Giannetti currently holds the third position on Haverford's all-time performance list in the steeplechase.
Both Sullivan and Giannetti will get their respective NCAA Division III Championship meets underway with preliminaries on Thursday. Giannetti will run the steeplechase prelims at 11:30 a.m. with the 1,500 meter preliminary heats going off at 12:25 p.m. for the women. Both event finals will be held on Saturday. Mount Union will serve as the meet host which is being held in Geneva, Ohio.