April 23, 2015
Final Results
PHILADELPHIA -- Freshman Elizabeth Chikotas (Hellertown, Pa.) won't forget her Penn Relays debut, as she went onto win the championship section of women's 5,000-meter run Thursday night at Franklin Field. Chikotas was one of four Nittany Lions to set Penn State record book performances Thursday.
Chikotas captured Penn State's 111th Penn Relays championship title with the No. 4 time in school history, 16:05.46. She also becomes the first Nittany Lion to win the Penn Relays women's 5k title since 1986 (Stacy Prey).
Along with Chikotas in the 5,000-meter run, Tori Gerlach (Perkasie, Pa.) ran to an outdoor personal-best time of 16:21.53 en route to an eighth-place finish.
The day started out on a high note for Penn State with personal-best performances in the three-straight events.
Obeng Marfo (Ontario, Canada) began the day for Penn State with a personal-best performance in the women's discus. In the event, Marfo finished 10th with her toss of 152-3. She then carried her momentum into the college section of the women's shot put, as she tallied another personal-best mark.
In the college section of the women's shot put, Marfo was victorious with her personal-best toss of 49-11.25. Her mark today moves her into a tie for ninth all-time in the Penn State record books (Robinson -- 2014).
The women's high jump and the women's pole vault both started at 10 a.m. and featured personal-best performances in both events. Within minutes of each other Kasey Kemp (Irwin, Pa.) and Ahmenah Richardson (Philadelphia, Pa.) climbed the Penn State all-time charts.
Heading into the Penn Relays, Kemp was ninth all-time in the Penn State record books in the pole vault (12-4) and Richardson was outside the Penn State top-10 high jump list.
Kemp led a quartet of Nittany Lion pole vaulters to four top-10 finishes Thursday. Kemp was the top finisher for Penn State as she tallied a personal-best height of 12-9.5. Her mark moves her into tie for fourth all-time in the Penn State record books (Witmer - 2010 & Knabe - 2014).
Also in the women's pole vault, Lexi Masterson (Jeannette, Pa.) finished third (12-5.5), Erin Knabe (Voorhees, N.J.) tied for fourth (11-11.75) and Hannah Mulhern (Altoona, Pa.) tied for 10th (11-11.75).
With Kemp now tied for fourth, all four Nittany Lion pole vaulters rank in the top-four in the Penn State top-10 list.
In the women's high jump, Richardson passed at the opening height (5-3) and then she cleared the next six heights on her first attempts. In two jumps she went from outside the Penn State top-10 to tied for second all-time.
At 5-10, Richardson tied the No. 9 mark in school history, and at 5-11.25 she tied the No. 2 performance in school history. Richardson then missed her three attempts at 6-0.5, which would have set the school record. Overall, Richardson placed second in the competition.
Along with Richardson, Megan McCloskey (Lower Gwynedd, Pa.) and Sarah Palmer (Gansevoort, N.Y.) competed in the college section of the women's high jump. Both McCloskey and Palmer cleared 5-6, but McCloskey tied for fourth and Palmer tied for 10th based on misses.
Rachel Fatherly (Williamsport, Pa.) and Annjulie Vester (Homburg, Germany) competed in championship sections Thursday. Fatherly claimed the runner-up spot in the women's shot put (52-4.75) and Vester finished sixth in the hammer throw (180-0).
Fatherly also finished second in the college section of the women's hammer throw; she tallied a distance of 181-7.
The quartet of Megan Osborne (Chillicothe, Ohio), Dynasty McGee (Flint, Mich.), Tichina Rhodes (Philadelphia, Pa.) and Deja Davis (Shelby Charter Township, Mich.) qualified for Saturday's women's 4x400-meter relay college final. The Nittany Lion 4x4 ran the 11th-fastest time in qualifying (3:44.41) to advance onto Saturday's College Final at 5:50 p.m.
The women's 4x100-meter relay of Dannielle Gibson (Nassau, Bahamas), Davis, Osborne and Quenee Dale (Ypsilanti, Mich.) clocked in at 47.68. Overall, the finished 28th and they will compete Friday in the ECAC Final at 1:07 p.m.
Penn State ended the day with the duo of Glen Burkhardt (Kennett Square, Pa.) and Matt Fischer (Kennett Square, Pa.) finishing third and fourth, respectively in the championship section of the men's 5,000-meter run. Burkhardt clocked in for a personal-best time of 14:02.09, followed by Fischer in 14:02.60.
The Nittany Lions return to action tomorrow at the Penn Relays starting at 9 a.m. with the men's discus.
For more on Nittany Lion track & field, log onto www.GoPSUsports.com or follow the team on Twitter @PennStateTFXC.