The Slippery Rock women’s indoor track team was in action this past weekend at the PSAC (Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference) Championships in Edinboro, PA. The Rock finished the two-day competition as the PSAC runner-up.
Shippensburg University took the Championship, their second consecutive, with 106 points. The Rock placed second with 77 points while East Stroudsburg University finished third with 66 points. The hosts, Edinboro University and Seton Hill University, rounded out the top five, respectively.
The Rock sat in second place after the first day of competition after strong showings from the pole vaulters and maintained their position through the weekend of competitive events.
In the pole vault finals, sophomore pole vaulter Maddy Marshall took 10 points for winning the event with a jump of 3.93 meters. Senior pole vaulter Courtney McQuaide, senior pole vaulter Maria Darling, and junior pole vaulter Roxanne Dunn each scored points for the Rock with jumps of 3.83 meters (6 points), 3.63 meters (4 points) and 3.53 meters (1 point), respectively. Junior pole vaulter Julia Schuler and sophomore pole vaulter Erika Thomas had jumps of 3.38 and 3.23 meters, respectively.
In the 60-meter dash, the 200-meter dash, the 400-meter run and 60-meter hurdles, only the top eight qualified for the final on day two. Freshman sprinter/hurdler Reagan Hess and sophomore sprinter/hurdler Emily Horstman qualified and finished fourth and seventh. Hess clocked in at 7.75 seconds (5 points) while Horstman recorded a time of 7.91 seconds (2 points). Hess’ trial time in the 60-meter dash, clocked in at 7.67 seconds, was fast enough to set an SRU record.
Hess and Horstman were back at it in the 200-meter dash with fifth and seventh place finishes. Hess timed in at 25.35 seconds (4 points) while Horstman timed in at 25.74 seconds (2 points). In the 800-meter run finals, junior distance runner Madison Przicina placed fifth with a time of 2:17.42 (4 points) while senior distance runner Caitlin Janeda placed sixth with a time of 2:17.94 (2 points). Sophomore mid-distance runner Kacey Raible placed 13th with a time of 2:23.73.
The Rock relay teams put in very strong performances with a combined 19 points. The 4×400-meter relay team of senior sprinter Aerial Dukes, Przicina, senior sprinter Katie Teed, and freshman sprinter Vanessa Shedlock took first with a combined time of 3:55.48 (10 points). The 4×800-meter relay team of Przicina, freshman distance runner Juliet Ryan, Raible and Janeda placed second with a combined time of 9:31.05 (8 points). The distance medley relay team of senior distance runner Melissa Rains, freshman sprinter Alexis Marchando, sophomore mid-distance runner Bri Witherel and sophomore distance runner Emily Johnson placed eighth with a combined time of 13:21.82 (1 point).
In the long jump finals, Hess took second place with a jump of 5.78 meters (8 points) while freshman jumper Lexi Salopek finished in 17th place with a distance of 5.10 meters. The triple jumpers recorded no points as Shedlock finished just outside at ninth with a distance of 11.14 meters. Sophomore Asia Broaddus and Salopek each recorded a tied distance of 10.76 meters to finish 15th and 16th. In the 60-meter hurdles, senior sprinter/jumper Sophie Mazza finished fourth with a time of 8.84 seconds (5 points).
The Rock just missed out on points again in the mile run as Ryan placed ninth with a time of 5:20 flat. In the 5,000-meter run final, junior distance runner Sabrina Palmieri took 21st place with a time of 19:38.86.
Senior thrower Kelci Yale and thrower Rachel Demaria took fifth and sixth in the shot-put finals with throws of 13.06 meters (3 points) and 12.99 meters (2 points). Freshman thrower Hannah Pitchford, senior thrower Anna Frengel and sophomore thrower Abby Way finished 10th, 11th and 17th with throws of 12.66 meters, 12.65 meters and 11.13 meters, respectively. The weight throwers just missed out on points with Yale finishing ninth, her throw reaching 15.35 meters. Frengel and Way took 16th and 22nd place with distances of 14.20 meters and 13.25 meters reached.
The second-place finish at the PSAC Championship concludes a successful season for most of the women on the team, however, a duo of women will be competing in the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) D-II Championships on March 9th and 10th in Pittsburg, Kansas. Marshall and McQuaide will compete while Hess and Darling just missed an invitation. The rest of the team now turn their attention toward the outdoor track season.
