Benford, Traynor await Tuesday decision on bids to nationals

The NCAA selection committee naming at-large bids for the outdoor track and field national championships won't release results until 3 p.m. Tuesday, not Monday, as originally expected.

That's according to Steve Taylor, men's track and field coach for the University of Richmond. Two Richmond athletes -- Nicol Traynor and Andrew Benford -- are in the running to receive invitations to the championships in Fayetteville, Ark., based on their performances earlier this season.

Traynor is vying for a spot in the women's 5,000-meter run, and Benford is looking for one in the men's 3,000 steeplechase. Taylor and women's coach Lori Taylor expect Traynor to earn the bid.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. The Collegian's earlier story is below.

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Nicol Traynor and Andrew Benford are poised to extend their track and field seasons to the NCAA National Championships, despite falling short of the automatic qualifiers in their respective races at the East regional championships in Greensboro, N.C., on Friday and Saturday.

Traynor finished in 16 minutes, 36.5 seconds on Friday night in the 5,000-meter run at North Carolina A&T in a pouring rain, and Benford ended in 8th place in 8:56.29 in the 3,000-meter steeplechase on Saturday night.

Both distance runners must wait until Monday evening to know whether they will advance to the national championships as at-large qualifiers. The top-five finishers from each event in each of four regions receive automatic bids to nationals, and seven additional runners nationally are selected based on athletes' season-best times.

Four of the seven runners ahead of Traynor's season-best of 16:17.64 -- set in Walnut, Calif., on April 17 -- also qualified for nationals in the 10,000 and could forgo their spots in the 5,000. The selection committee for nationals bases its judgments for at-large bids on the best times for runners.

"My coaches think I have a pretty good shot," Traynor said of her chances.

Traynor did not blame the heavy rain for keeping her from an automatic bid.

"It might have made my shoes a little heavier, which made my legs a little heavier," Traynor said. "But it was the same for everyone."

Benford, meanwhile, is not as optimistic about his chance of earning one of the at-large spots, after running what he described as a "disappointing race." He missed an automatic slot by less than four seconds, but raced to an 8:52 win on May 1 during the Atlantic 10 Championships in Charlotte, N.C.

That time will be considered in his selection. He's currently ranked eighth on the at-large list, meaning he may miss qualifying by about one second.

"If the NCAA takes eight at-large athletes in this event then he will make it to the national championships," men's coach Steve Taylor wrote in an e-mail. "If they only take six at-large, then he will miss by less than one second. We just have to wait and see what they [will] do. It's in the hands of the selection committee now which is not what we wanted."

Benford was near the front throughout the race, but was not able to make a move to get up among the leaders.

"I didn't get out to a real good start," Benford said of Saturday's regional race. "When you don't get yourself into a good position from the start, you have to spend a lot of energy to get up toward the front."

Benford partially blamed his poor start on a change in the way he ran the race.

"I've gone out too hard before so I tried to conserve energy for later in the race," Benford said.

Richmond last had a representative at nationals in 2007 when sprinter Jessica Young qualified.

Two other athletes also competed at regionals for Richmond: Heather Roush and Sean Welsh.

Roush finished 19th in the javelin, throwing 40.08 meters on her third throw. Her first throw landed at 38.41 meters, and she fouled her second throw.

"It definitely wasn't my best performance of the season," Roush said. "I was really hoping to put up a better mark and possibly be a long-shot for nationals. But you got to roll with the punches."

Welsh finished his Richmond career and a break-out senior campaign just seven seconds away from reaching the regional finals in the 1500. On Friday night, he finished in 3:55.67 during a preliminary race, which he qualified for after winning the 1500 at the Atlantic 10 Championships. Welsh ran a season and personal best of 3:52.26 at the Duke Invitational on April 3 in Durham, N.C.

"I felt he ran quite well this season and at 1200M of the 1500M race he was in position to advance to [the] finals," Taylor said. "He just wasn't able to close the last 300M."

An e-mail message seeking comment from Lori Taylor, the women's coach, was not immediately returned on Sunday night.

This version of the story ADDS quotes from Steve Taylor.

Contact staff writer Andrew Prezioso at andrew.prezioso@richmond.edu