»Brittany Hickey, Guest Writer
Ohio Valley Conference Indoor Track Athlete of the Year, Chantelle Grey, ran in the 800-meter event at the Alex Wilson Invitational at Notre Dame Saturday, March 2 against some of the top track schools in the nation.
Grey placed 17th in her event, running a 2:08.12, beating out athletes from Kansas, Texas and many other universities.
The time is not Grey’s fastest, but her personal record of 2:07.72 would have placed her in 15th.
Track and field coach Doug Molnar thought Grey got a bad draw, placing her in a particularly tough heat.
“Overall, I think she ran a solid race,” Molnar said. “She ended up having to do a lot more work than we were hoping.”
Grey’s only consistent issue is starting her races too fast. Molnar said she had the fastest 600-split, but said she doesn’t have the strength to hold that pace.The senior also recently received recognition, naming her the Copies in a Flash Player of the Week after dominating at the OVC Indoor Track and Field Championships.
At the 800-meter event Grey ran a 2:12.61 and still won handily, the closest runner coming in three seconds later.
Her time at the Alex Wilson Invitational did not qualify her for the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships this coming weekend, but she will continue her last season as an APSU track and field athlete when the outdoor season begins Saturday, March 23.
Molnar is hopeful for Grey’s chances in the outdoor season, where she can do what she is best at and race her way in rather than run in heats. He thinks she can build on last year’s record of making it to regionals and make 2013 the year she goes to nationals.
“Obviously she’s a little disappointed,” Molnar said. “We were hoping to qualify for nationals, but she had a great year, being named Conference Player of the Year and OVC champion.”
