Kat Lehman found a way to motivate herself in a race where she could not pace against another runner. (photo by Scott Eyre)

Lehman and Chappell-Dick run well at Tufts

Eastern Mennonite sent two women to the Tufts Last Chance Meet Friday in Medford, Mass. And from the looks of it, both are ready for next week’s NCAA National Championship meet.

Hannah Chappell-Dick (Bluffton, Ohio/Bluffton) broke her own EMU record for the indoor 800m. She topped the field of 10 runners with a time of 2:13.43, giving her the No. 6 time in the nation this season.  Her previous record came earlier this season at a time of 2:15.07.

Despite not running the event at today’s meet, Chappell-Dick is still No. 5 in the nation in the mile. She set her PR with an ODAC-record time of 4:56.37 in the mile two weeks ago.

Kat Lehman (Dover, Ohio/Dover) broke the 10-minute mark again in the 3000m, impressively doing it while running by herself for much of the two-person race. Although she did not break her own record with the time of 9:59.70, Lehman still holds the No. 13 time in the nation with her ODAC record of 9:55.49 from two weeks ago. She is one of just 15 women to run under 10 minutes this year.

The field of NCAA National Championships participants will be released Monday morning. The top 17 women in each individual event qualify, meaning both Lehman and Chappell-Dick feel comfortable about qualifying in their respective events. EMU’s junior would likely pick between the mile and the 800m if she qualifies in both.

The national meet is next Friday and Saturday in Winston-Salem, N.C.