Feb. 15, 2014
Results from Washington Husky Classic | Results from SPIRE D-I Invitational
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Penn State's track & field teams had a solid showing in split competition this weekend, with numerous student-athletes performing well just two weeks out from the Big Ten Indoor Championships.
"We split the squad this weekend and the majority of the team went to SPIRE as a preview of Big Tens," said Beth Alford-Sullivan. "Things went extremely well. We had a phenomenal performance from Kiah Seymour- huge PR for her- and Mahagony Jones backed that up with a huge run in the 200 meters and a PR for her. On Friday night, Leigha Anderson took well over a minute off her previous record in the 5000. We really had great performances across the board. It was a very productive week for us, a tremendous set-up for Big Tens.
"Out West, Brannon Kidder tied his second best time in the mile and is among the top times in the country right now and Marta Klebe had a personal best in the mile as well. Across the board it was a good weekend for us."
At the SPIRE D-I Invitational, sophomore Kiah Seymour (Washington, D.C.) finished first in the 400 meter dash with a new personal record of 52.74. Junior Dynasty McGee (Flint, Mich.) placed third in the event and both were part of Penn State's winning 4x400 meter relay team on Saturday. Redshirt-senior Mahagony Jones (Cleveland, Ohio) placed first in the 200 meters in 23.34 seconds was also on Penn State's winning 4x400 meter relay team.
Penn State's winning 4x400 meter relay team crossed the line ahead of the pack with a time of 3:35.31 thanks to the team of McGee, Jones, freshman Tichina Rhodes (Philadelphia, Pa.) and Seymour. Cornell was second with a time of 3:38.48, more than three seconds behind the Nittany Lions.
The Nittany Lions also had a solid day in the field. Junior Brittney Howell (Wyncote, Pa.) jumped 19-8.25 (6.00 meters) in the long jump to place second. Howell also finished third in the high jump, clearing 5-7.75. Teammate Ahmenah Richardson (Philadelphia, Pa.) finished fourth, also clearing 5-7.75. All four top finishers in the event cleared that same height.
Sophomore Rachel Fatherly (Williamsport, Pa.) finished second in the shot put with her throw of 50-10.75 (15.51 meters).
Freshman Byron Robinson (Chesapeake, Va.) placed second in the 200 meter dash for the Nittany Lion men.
In the men's field events, junior Darrell Hill (Philadelphia, Pa.) finished third in the shot put, throwing an indoor personal record 62-2.5. Teammate Jon Hendershot (Nazareth, Pa.) cleared 6-11.75 in the high jump, which was good enough for a second place finish. Junior Steve Waithe (Parkville, Md.) opened the triple jump competition with his first ever jump over 16 meters (52-6). The jump was good enough for first place, while teammate Brian Leap (Bellwood, Pa.) used his best mark of 50-9.25 to claim second.
Meanwhile on the West Coast at the Washington Husky Classic, sophomore Brannon Kidder (Lancaster, Ohio) logged a time of under four minutes in the one-mile run for the second consecutive week. This week, Kidder ran a 3:58.49, which was just off the winning pace of 3:58.25 set by Mac Fleet from Oregon.
The teams will take a week off before heading to the Big Ten Indoor Championships on Feb. 28 and March 1. The championships will be held at the SPIRE Institute.
--NITTANY LIONS--