April 26, 2018
PHILADELPHIA - On a cool, crisp Thursday night at Franklin Field, sophomore Kathryn Munks (Chester, N.Y.) toed the line against 21 runners in her section of the women's 5,000-meter run and brought home a Penn Relays watch at the 124th running of the Penn Relays.
"It was pretty shocking," Munks said of her finish. "I had no idea who was in the race. I was just trying to feel good, I was trying to race, and I was trying to beat people."
The women's 5,000-meter run saw two unattached runners finish 1-2 as Millie Paladino finished first at 16:08.15 and Annika Sisson placed second with her time of 16:21.02.
Two seconds after Sisson crossed the finish line, Munks, the top attached collegian, completed the 5,000-meter race with her personal-best outing of 16:23.15. With her finishing as the top attached collegian, she received a Penn Relays watch.
"It's pretty cool, it is my first one," Munks said on bringing home her first Penn Relays watch.
Munks wasn't the only Nittany Lion distance runner to tally a personal-best outing on Thursday night.
The men's 3,000-meter steeplechase saw freshman James Abrahams (Havertown, Pa.) drop almost eight seconds off his personal-best time. In the race, Abrahams finished third in his heat and 13th overall with his final time of 9:10.03.
In the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase, Lisa Bennatan (Lake Forest, Ill.) ran a personal-best time of 10:35.34 to finish fourth in her section and 17th overall.
John McGowan (Northport, N.Y.) capped off the opening day of the Penn Relays for Penn State with his outdoor personal-best time of 14:16.29 in the men's 5,000-meter run to finish 16th.
Earlier in the day, a trio of Nittany Lion relays took to the track.
The quartet of Brooke-Lynn Williams (Norton, Mass.), Keianna Albury (Eleuthera, Bahamas), Quenee Dale (Ypsilanti, Mich.), and Kiara Lester (Wenonah, N.J.) ran 45.64 in the women's 4x100-meter relay to place ninth and advance to the Championship of America section on Friday at 12:55 p.m.
The women's 4x400-meter relay of Lester, Rachael DeCecco (Mechanicsburg, Pa.), Maddie Holmberg (Greensburg, Pa.), and Frances Bull (Mentor, Ohio) combined for a time of 3:46.52 to finish 14th overall. Penn State will now run in the college section on Saturday at 5:25 p.m.
The Penn State women's distance medley relay of Greta Lindsley (Lancaster, Pa.), Deja Davis (Shelby Charter Township, Mich.), Victoria Tachinski (Winnipeg, Manitoba), and Danae Rivers (Derby, Conn.) took third in the Championship of America section with their time of 11:09.15.
The field events on Thursday for Penn State were highlighted by a third-place finish from Hannah Mulhern (Altoona, Pa.) in the championship section of the women's pole vault.
In the championship section of the women's pole vault, Mulhern cleared a height of 13-1.5 to finish third, while freshman Katie Jones (Williamsport, Pa.) placed sixth with her height of 12-7.5
Also in the field events, Holmberg went on to finish eighth in the championship section of the women's long jump with her leap of 19-3.25 and in the championship section of the women's javelin throw, Steph Sievers (Douglassville, Pa.) tallied a toss of 157-0 to finish seventh.
Action at the 124th running of the Penn Relays continues for Penn State on Friday, April 27, starting at 9 a.m.