After a week off from competition, the Slippery Rock outdoor track and field teams competed at the Raleigh Relays and the Washington and Jefferson Invitational last weekend.
The Raleigh Relays started on Friday and was a two-day event. The W&J Invitational was held on Saturday.
The Relays brought together some of the best athletes in the nation. Leading the Rock for the women’s team was junior Stephanie Case in the 10,000-meter run.
Case beat 37 other runners to place ninth with a time of 36:03.80 and met the NCAA provisional qualifying time.
This was the first time Case has competed in the 10,000-meter run. She exceeded her expectations of her performance and was pleased with the ninth place finish.
Meeting PSAC qualifying standards on day one was freshman Janine Powis, senior Caitlin Hancox, and junior Kara Styles.
Powis ran a time of 4:45.99 in the 1,500-meter run (Section 3) to come in 12th. Hancox competed in the 1,500-meter run (Sections 5-8) and came in eighth place with a time of 4:47.82.
Styles placed 18th in the 5,000-meter run with a time of 18:23.03.
Freshman Katelyn Wetzel led the Rock in the 100-meter dash running her season-best at 12.42 seconds to place second in her heat and 35th overall. Also in the event was senior Jayme Stanek (12.82 seconds – 50th), sophomore Christina Ransom (13.14 seconds – 61st), freshman Samatha Zampetti(13.29 seconds – 66th), and sophomore Elissa McCune(13.52 seconds – 69th).
On day two, juniors Lexi Arnold and Kim Goth took fifth and sixth place in the javelin throw. Arnold threw for 40.07 meters, her second NCAA qualifying throw of the season, and Goth for 39.67 meters.
Stanek and McCune improved their PSAC qualifying times in the 400-meter hurdles. Stanek placed 12th with a time of 1:03.70 and McCune placed 31st at 1:06.11.
The 4×100 team of Stanek, Wetzel, Zampetti, and Ransom placed 14th with their best run of the season at 49.39 seconds.
Most of the competition was Division 1 and this was the first time many of the athletes had competed all season.
Freshman Chris Grooms and junior Eric Geddis led the men’s team with eighth place finishes at the Relays, both meeting PSAC qualifying standards.
Grooms ran a time of 15:29.88 in the 5,000-meter run, and Geddis completed the 3,000-meter steeple chase with a time of 9:45.76.
With a season-low time in the 1,500-meter run, sophomore Michael Beegle still met PSAC standards and placed 15th with a time of 4:00.60.
Junior Hunter Williams improved his PSAC mark when he finished 36th in the 400-meter dash with a time of 49.07 seconds.
Sophomores Trevor Foley, Dan Hedglin, and Jonathan Boyd improved their PSAC qualifying times in the 400-meter hurdles on day two of the Relays.
Foley ran a time of 54.61 seconds to place 20th, in 22nd was Hedglin at 54.98 seconds, and Boyd in 34th at 56.78 seconds.
In the 800-meter run, junior Kevin Jewel placed ninth with a time of 1:52.87.
Senior Chad Noce came in 11th in the shot put with a PSAC qualifying throw of 15.67 meters. Junior Kyle Toms placed 15th in the event throwing for 15.37 meters.
The Washington and Jefferson Invitational completed the weekend for the Rock.
The women’s team received the team title with 109 points, three event wins, and 15 top-10 finishes.
In the pole vault, senior Kelly Fischer took the win clearing 3.40 meters. Sophomore Julia Cain placed third with a clearance of 3.25 meters, freshman Keriann Hill came in fourth at 3.10 meters, and junior Emily Vaughn in sixth at 2.95 meters.
Senior Cassie Carrow won the hammer throw with a toss of 45.97 meters just beating freshman Brittany Christiansen’s second place throw of 45.76 meters.
Sophomore Dilshani Madawala brought home the win the in the triple jump at 10.56 meters.
The Rock had two top-10 finishes in the 5,000-meter run and the javelin throw.
In the 5,000-meter run, freshman Shannon Byerly placed fourth with a time of 18.58.85 and junior Kyria Yanoviak placed sixth at 19.04.16.
Freshman Amanda Krise threw for 34.32 meters in the javelin throw to place third. Sophomore Heather Holmes finished fourth with a mark of 33.15 meters.
Junior Tara Catone had two top-10 finishes. Catone placed third in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 17.29 seconds and 10th in the 100-meter dash at 28.18 seconds.
Slippery Rock’s men’s team placed fourth in the team standings with 54 points.
