Junior Leah Clear from Camden Catholic and sophomore Kadence Dumas from Eastern were both among Delaware’s top four finishers Saturday in the Conference USA Championships in Huntsville, Ala., and both ran all-course PRs.
Clear placed 23rd in 21:08.33 over 6,000 meters at John Hunt Park in Huntsville, Ala., and Dumas placed 29th and ran 21:21.36.
Clear’s previous all-course best for a 6K was 21:47.4 last November at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Region Championships in State College, and Dumas’s was 22:19.2 last month at the ECAC Championships at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx.
So Clear ran about half a minute faster than she ever has on any course and Dumas ran nearly a minute faster.
Delaware placed 4th with 123 points, behind only Liberty [40], New Mexico State [104] and Missouri State [117].
Clear and Dumas are both showing terrific range from middle distance on the track to 3.73 miles on the trails.
Dumas ran 2:07.30 last spring in Lewisburg, Pa., and placed 3rd in the 800 at the Conference USA Championships in Greensboro. Clear ran 4:26.51 and placed 6th in the conference meet at 1,500 meters.
Delaware races Nov. 14 in the NCAA Division 1 Mid-Atlantic Region Championships on Lehigh’s course in Bethlehem and Lower Saucon Township. Delaware is ranked 11th in the region.
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 