Twenty-three ladies on the Slippery Rock University women’s track and field team reached the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference qualifying marks and four reached NCAA provisional marks last Friday at the SRU Open.
In the pole vault, junior Julia Cain won the event with a clearance of 3.75 meters. Freshman Kaitlyn Clark was right behind Cain, placing second, with a clearance of 3.66 meters.
Senior Angela Schroeder took third with a clearance of 3.55 meters.
Senior Emily Vaughn, sophomore Keriann Hill, and sophomore Emily Schubert all had a clearance of 3.10 meters, and tied for fourth place.
Vaughn said that the pressure was low at the event, because most of the competitors were her teammates.
“The atmosphere was pretty relaxed, because the majority of the competitors were from Slippery Rock, so it felt like practice somewhat,” Vaughn said. “I liked this because I wasn’t nervous and there wasn’t much pressure.”
Vaughn went on to say that the team overall was pleased with the performance, and the girls still have a ways to go before they reach their full potential.
“It seemed like almost everyone was pretty happy with how they did,” Vaughn said. “The girl vaulters are pretty young and talented, so I think they have a ways to go to reach their full potential.”
Senior Lexi Arnold won the javelin event with a PSAC-qualifying toss of 45.67 meters; her season-best, also earning her PSAC Athlete of the Week.
Senior Kim Goth took second in the javelin with a PSAC-qualifying toss of 38.93 meters.
Senior Tara Catone also hit the PSAC-qualifying mark and placed fourth with a toss of 37.66 meters.
Sophomore Katelyn Wetzel won the 100-meter dash with a time of 12.40 seconds and the 200-meter dash with a time of 25.58 seconds.
Freshman Emily Moroco had a PSAC qualifying time and placed fifth in the 100-meter dash with a time of 12.98 seconds.
Freshman Lexie Nowakowski placed fifth in the 200-meter dash with a time of 26.59 seconds.
Freshman Mariah Burns won the long jump and the triple jump with leaps of 5.36 meters and 11.05 meters.
Freshman Sam Taylor had a PSAC-qualifying jump, placing fourth in the long jump with a leap of 5.17 meters.
In the hammer throwing event, the Green and White took the top three spots, with all three ladies having PSAC-qualifying throws.
Sophomore Brittany Christiansen won the event with a toss of 49.77 meters and junior Amanda McCool took second with a toss of 42.62 meters.
Junior Ally Hubble took third with a toss of 41.46 meters.
Christiansen and Hubble also hit the PSAC qualifying mark in the shot put.
Christiansen took second in the event with a toss of 11.53 meters. Hubble placed third with a toss of 11.21 meters. Freshman Breanna Northcott placed fourth with a toss of 11.19 meters.
The ladies will host the second annual Dave Labor Invitational on Saturday; their second home meet in a row.
Some distance runners are heading to the Bison Open at Bucknell University this weekend as well.
