Purdue Fort Wayne
The Summit League Outdoor Championships Day 1
Martinez' Third-Place Finish Paces `Dons in Opening Day
5/14/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track and Field
May 14, 2009
Summit League 10,000-meter Run Results 
Cedar City, UT - Competing at the 2009 Summit League Championships, hosted by Southern Utah University, the IPFW Mastodons placed two people in the school's only event of the day, the 10,000-meter run, Crystal Martinez and Ali Paul.
Due to the extreme altitude of Cedar City, roughly estimated at 6,000-feet above sea level, the fourth highest elevation collegiate track in the country, a remarkable 1:24.44 is subtracted from each competitor's time due to the lack of oxygen in the air.
Martinez led briefly in the race, with she, Semehar Tesfaye from North Dakota State and Beth Whalen of Western Illinois trading the lead back-and-forth among each other, running to a first mile time of 6:02. Paul was near the tail end of the nine-person lead pack after the opening mile at 6:04, with Kim Matusik and Kayla Sweet fighting with the second pack of runners at 6:24 over the opening 1,600-meters.
Ali Paul placed sixth for IPFW in the 10,000-meter run  |
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Halfway through the race, Tesfaye pulled away, opening up a lead on both Whalen and Martinez, and the latter duo battled for the remaining time in the 6.2-mile race. Oakland's Kelsey Carmean also challenged Martinez during the middle stages of the race, before falling off and taking fourth in the field.
Late in the race, Whalen opened a lead on Martinez that could not be caught, as the WIU runner took second and Martinez third in a time of 38:52.24, with the time being dropped to 37:27.80 due to the elevation.
Paul continued working throughout the entire race, picking off runners throughout the final stages of the race, narrowly closing into fifth place, taking sixth in a time of 39:43.36 (elevation converted time of 38:18.92), just behind Sylvia Bedford of Southern Utah in a time 39:41.98 (converted to 38:17.54).
Matusik placed 13th overall in a time of 44:45.71 (43:21.27), as Sweet was unable to finish the race after running the first three miles of the event.
With the nine points earned by IPFW, they sit in fifth place overall. North Dakota State is the first-day leader with 26.5 points, as Southern Utah, Western Illinois and South Dakota State are all fighting behind with 25, 21, and 20.5 points, respectively. IPFW leads Oral Roberts (8), Oakland (5), and UMKC (2) heading into the second day.
~Dons~
