2007 NCAA MidEast Regional Notes/Miami Top Times in PDF Format
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May 23, 2007

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OXFORD, Ohio - Three athletes from the Miami University men's track and field team are set to travel to the 2007 NCAA MidEast Regional, which runs May 25-26 at Audrey J. Walton Stadium. Hosted by the University of Missouri, the meet features student-athletes from 88 different teams, including Miami representatives senior Tom Herrmann (high jump), junior Michael Veatch (steeplechase) and sophomore Pat Sovacool (1,500 meters).

Sovacool is making his second straight appearance at the regional meet after finishing 13th in the 1,500 meters as a freshman. As one of Miami's most talented distance runners during the 2007 season, Sovacool placed third in the 1,500 meters at the MAC Championships and also won the 5,000 meters at the All-Ohio and the 1,500 meters at the Miami Invitational. Sovacool enters the regional meet ranked 18th in the MidEast Region with his time of 3:45.34, which is converted from his career-best mile time of 4:03.54 that he turned in at Ohio State's Jesse Owens Invitational.

Herrmann and Veatch are each making their first career appearances at the regional meet, with both athletes ranking among the top 20 regionally in their respective events. A four-time MAC scorer, Herrmann ranks 19th in the MidEast Region with his career-best clearance of 6-10 3/4, which he turned in at the Wake Forest Open. Veatch ranks 13th in the region with his career-best steeplechase time of 8:58.45, which he registered with his third-place finish at the MAC Championships. Veatch also stands fifth all-time at Miami in the event.

Athletes competing in the regional meet can qualify for the 2007 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships with an automatic berth or as an at-large selection. To earn an automatic bid, an athlete must finish in the top five in an individual event or top three in a relay at a regional meet. After the automatic qualifiers have been identified, the next seven athletes and relay teams in each event based upon regional performance (top-12 regional finishers) are placed into the national at-large pool and listed in order of their best performance of the year, including any best marks established at the regional meet. The field in each event is then filled by starting at the top of the at-large pool until the cap of 544 athletes is reached.

Sovacool is slated to compete in the 1,500-meter prelims Friday at 3:30 p.m. The men's high jump (noon) and steeplechase (6:15 p.m.) are both scheduled for Saturday, while the finals of the 1,500 meters get underway Saturday at 4:20 p.m.

2007 MIAMI REGIONAL QUALIFIERS

Tom Herrmann: Senior high jumper ... regional qualifier in the high jump ... placed sixth in the high jump at the MAC Championships ... four-time MAC scorer ... named MAC Field Athlete of the Week on April 6 ... cleared career-best height of 6-10 3/4 at the Wake Forest Open ... all-MAC academic selection.

Pat Sovacool: Sophomore distance runner ... back-to-back regional qualifier in the 1,500 meters ... ranked 18th in the MidEast Region ... finished 13th at last season's regional meet in 1,500-meter preliminaries ... placed third in the 1,500 meters at the MAC Championships ... named the MAC Track Athlete of the Week on April 18 ... won the 5,000 meters at the All-Ohio and the 1,500 meters at the Miami Invitational ... all-MAC academic selection.

Michael Veatch: Junior distance runner ... regional qualifier in the 3,000-meter steeplechase ... clocked in with career-best and third-place steeplechase time (8:58.45) at the MAC Championships ... his steeplechase time ranks fifth in program history ... also scored in the 5,000 meters at the MAC meet with a seventh-place finish ... all-MAC academic selection.