The Slippery Rock women’s indoor track team was in action on Friday afternoon in Edinboro, Pa. for the Last Chance Invite. In the last meet of the season before the PSAC (Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference) Championship, sophomore pole vaulter Maddy Marshall earned an automatic invitation to the NCAA Championship by breaking an SRU and PSAC record in the pole vault.
While the pole vaulters were once again the stars of the show, the meet itself was a complete team effort. The Rock ran, jumped, and threw to 17 PSAC qualification marks and six first-place finishes.
The Rock sprinters took first place finishes in the 200-meter and the 400-meter dashes. Sophomore sprinter/hurdler, Emily Horstman, clocked in with a 25.91-second 200-meter dash while freshman sprinter/hurdler ran the 400-meter dash in 1:00.95. Senior sprinter/hurdler Sophie Mazza took first in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.90 seconds. Junior distance runner, Madison Przicina, and senior distance runner, Caitlyn Janeda, took first and third in the 800-meter run with times of 2:18.01 and 2:22.46, respectively.
In 2008, former Slippery Rock athlete Jen Hansen set the SRU and PSAC record in the pole vault at 4.00 meters. On Friday afternoon, Marshall broke the ten-year-old record by 0.01 meters in route to an automatic qualification for the NCAA Championship in Pittsburg, Ks. in a few weeks. Marshall won the event with a height of 4.01 meters. Senior pole vaulter, Courtney McQuaide, and senior pole vaulter, Maria Darling, finished second and third with heights of 3.82 meters and 3.42 meters, respectively. Junior pole vaulter, Roxanne Dunn, and junior pole vaulter, Julia Schuler, finished fifth and sixth with a tied height of 3.27 meters.
The Rock placed first and second in the triple jump with freshman sprinter/jumper, Vanessa Shedlock, and sophomore jumper, Asia Broaddus, reaching distances of 11.24 meters and 10.41 meters, respectively.
With second, third, and fourth place finishes in the weight throw, the Rock throwers finished off the meet superbly. Senior thrower, Kelci Yale, sophomore thrower, Abby Way, and senior thrower, Anna Frengel, had throws of 15.30 meters, 14.39 meters, and 14.14 meters, respectively.
Next weekend, The Rock will return to Edinboro for the PSAC Championship on the 24th and 25th of February. The women’s indoor team will send a sizeable party to the Championship in the hopes of capturing a sixth women’s indoor championship and advancing further to the NCAA Championship.
