BOSTON – Multiple top-five program marks and standout performances fueled the Penn State track & field team's two-meet weekend in Boston. Handal Roban, Kileigh Kane, and Maddie Ullom all recorded top-five program marks on the track through competition Friday and Saturday.
Roban's weekend included two 800-meter races. The first, at the Eagle Elite Invite hosted by Boston College at the TRACK at New Balance, he won with a 1:47.10 then-season-best mark. The second, at BU's Valentine Invitational, he finished as the top collegian with a 1:46.81, the second-fastest indoor 800 in Penn State history.
On Friday night in the women's mile, Kane became just the second woman in school history to break 4:33 in the event with her 4:32.97. Ullom's 4:35.03 PR ranks fourth in school history.
FRIDAY TRACK EVENT SUMMARY
Kaylee McCullough and Allison Dougherty kicked off Penn State's weekend with PRs in the unseeded section of the women's 5K on Friday morning at the Valentine Invite. McCullough crossed the line in 16:42.45 for her new top mark while Dougherty went 17:00.27, finishing just short of the 17-minute barrier.
Hayley Kitching brought the heat in the women's 800-meters, finishing as the No. 2 overall collegian in a loaded field of runners at the Valentine Invite with a 2:01.84. Teammate Victoria Vanriele clocked a season-best 2:07.48 in the event as well.
Over at the Eagle Elite Invite hosted by Boston College at the TRACK at New Balance, Roban won the 800-meter race with a then-season-best 1:47.10. Roban finished over a half-second faster than the rest of the field to earn the win.
Penn State's women's mile group posted a historic outing at the Valentine Invite on Friday evening. Kane went 4:32.97 and Ullom finished in 4:35.03, setting the second and fourth-fastest mile times in Penn State history. Along with Florence Caron's 4:33.95 mile from earlier this year, the Nittany Lions have now set three of the top four mile times in school history this season. Caron clocked a 4:36.28 in the mile in Boston, finishing just behind her teammates. Lea Hatcher set a personal-best 4:42.28 while Makenna Krebs finished in 4:45.32.
In the seeded women's 3K, Faith DeMars finished with a 9:24.94 and Katie Dallas set her lifetime-best mark with a 9:38.38. Rounding out the evening, Sophia Toti crossed the line in the seeded women's 5K in 16:21.05, just shy of her lifetime PR in the event.
SATURDAY TRACK EVENT SUMMARY
Following his 800-meter win on Friday at the Eagle Elite Invite, Roban traveled across town and dropped a 1:46.81 to finish as the top collegian in the 800 at the Valentine Invite on Saturday morning. Roban's mark is the second-fastest in Penn State history, with only Isaiah Harris' 1:46.08 standing ahead of Roban's time. The sophomore's mark moves him into the top five in Division I. Not to be outdone, Olivier Desmeules finished behind Roban as the No. 2 collegian at BU with his 1:47.44 while Carter Fitzgerald clocked a season-best 1:48.47.
In the men's mile, Evan Dorenkamp dropped a 3:56.23 season-best mile in an extremely competitive heat at the Valentine Invite. Luke Seymour followed up with a 4:03.00, the second fastest mile by a Nittany Lion this season. Tanner Piotrowski (4:07.41) and Yukichi Ishii (4:12.91) also competed in the tough mile field at the Valentine Invite.
Christopher DeSousa clocked an 8:06.24 PR in the men's 3K invite section at the Valentine Invite, recording a new PR. Ryan Watson finished out the night for the Nittany Lions with a 14:16.60 in his first collegiate 5K.
UP NEXT
The Nittany Lions will compete once more during the regular season next weekend when they host the Penn State Tune-Up.
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