The Slippery Rock women’s track and field team added 24 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) qualifying marks at the Ashland Open this past weekend to help their chances at sweeping championship titles for the 2013-2014 year.
“We have a good amount of big meet experience and our athletes can perform well under pressure,” SRU head coach John Papa said. “We will compete at a high level and focus this week.”
At Ashland, junior Katelyn Wetzel took first in the 100-meter dash with a time of 12.29 seconds.
Wetzel, freshman Julie Galante, sophomore Emily Moroco, and sophomore Jasmine Bailey combined to run the fastest 4×100 meter relay time in the PSAC this year at 47.24 seconds. The time earned the four a first place finish.
SRU’s 4×400 meter relay team of Moroco, Galante, Bailey and sophomore Cassandra Swartzbaugh placed second with a time of 3:56.61.
Rounding off the highlights on the track was junior Janine Powis with a second place finish in the 800-meter run at 2:17.70.
“With conference right around the corner, a lot of us are working on fixing the little things,” sophomore Samantha Taylor said. “Our health is probably the number one priority right now. We all want to feel the best we can so we can perform to the best of our abilities at PSACs.”
Taylor has consistently been hitting NCAA marks this season in the javelin throw and expects to perform well at the PSAC Championships.
“I still like to have fun at practice, but when the time comes to buckle down and be serious, I am,” Taylor said.
The SRU athletes have been pushing each other all season in hopes of winning back-to-back titles.
“We have several quality athletes qualified for the PSAC,” Papa said. “We should be one of the teams that finish in the top few spots.”
In the high jump, sophomore Ashley West took third at 1.65 meters, sophomore Paige Kassab placed fourth at 1.60 meters and freshman Sabrina Anderson took seventh at 1.60 meters. Freshman Bronte Soul finished third in the triple jump with a leap of 11.19 meters.
“Ashland was a good tune-up for us,” Papa said. “The weather held some of our athletes back but they’re all saving their best performances for this weekend.”
The PSAC Championships will be held at Shippensburg University May 1 to May 3.
