CORAL GABLES, Fla. – An outstanding weekend of competition was once again highlighted by a record-setting performance from superstar sprinter Cheickna Traore. Traore's school record in the 100-meter dash was one of six top-ten program marks set by the Nittany Lions at this weekend's Hurricane Alumni Invitational, hosted by Miami.
Last week's Big Ten Track Athlete of the Week lowered his own Penn State school record with a 10.20 in the 100-meter dash on Saturday, the No. 26 mark in the nation this season. Additionally, Maddie Pitts in the heptathlon, Handal Roban in the 400-meters, Victoria Vanriele in the 800-meters, and Duane Knisely in the shot put, and Tesia Thomas in the triple jump all put up top-ten program marks in Coral Gables.
FRIDAY EVENT SUMMARY
The Nittany Lion hammer throwers began competition on Friday. Dustin Swartwood finished ninth with a 173-4 (52.83m) mark on the men's side while Samaria McDonald placed first among collegiate athletes with a 204-6 (62.34m) throw.
Tesia Thomas placed seventh overall in the women's long jump, recording a 19-5.5 (5.93m) best jump. Hailey Zurich, a regular pole vaulter, made her season debut in the long jump, going 17-9 (5.41m). For the men, Emi Erekosima jumped 22-5.75 (6.85m) for 12th overall.
Freshman Jakub Korejba made his collegiate discus throw debut with a 163-1 (49.72m) effort, placing eighth overall. Duane Knisely finished 11th with a 160-8 (48.99m) throw.
In the women's pole vault, Penn State's Victoria Atkinson and Zurich tied for third overall with 13-5.25 (4.10m) clearances. For the men, Tristan McGarrah led the way in his fourth-place finish, clearing 16-2.75 (4.95m). Jonathan Petersen placed ninth with a 15-9 (4.80m) mark.
SATURDAY TRACK EVENT SUMMARY
In his first 1500-meter run in college, Roban clocked a 3:50.94 to win the men's competition in Miami.
A short time later, Roban went back to work, setting the ninth-fastest 400-meter mark in school history with a 46.71 once again as the top collegian in the field. For the women, Ryleigh Hearn finished 14th overall, coming across the line in 56.65.
In the women's 100-meter dash, Jermecia Brown came just a fraction of a second shy of her lifetime PR, finishing seventh overall with an 11.63. Traore's dominant 10.20 as the top collegian in the field highlighted the men's competition.
Victoria Vanriele set an outdoor personal-best mark with the tenth-fastest outdoor 800 in school history, a 2:05.18 effort. Behind Vanriele in fifth was Allison Johnson in eighth with a 2:07.90 and Sarah Pickering in 10th with a 2:10.36. On the men's side, freshman Kaleb Nastari's 1:48.43 paced the Nittany Lion group, followed by Smallwood in eighth with a 1:50.01.
Kylie Jacoutot set a PR in the 400-meter hurdles with a 1:01.68 while Matt DeMatteo placed seventh in the men's competition with a 53.54.
The women's sprinters finished out the evening for the Nittany Lions, first with Jermecia Brown's 200-meter PR. Brown clocked a 23.94 for 11th overall. Finally, the women's 4x400-meter crew of Jacoutot, Hearn, Vanriele, and Brown placed second with a 3:42.64.
SATURDAY FIELD EVENT SUMMARY
Chris Fredericks posted an outstanding 219-2 (66.81m) javelin throw to take second in the men's competition on Saturday. The throw was Fredericks' best since 2021. Kevin Bartosh finished sixth overall with a 198-8 (60.57m) throw. On the women's side, Audrey Friedman placed sixth (135-3, 41.22m) while Lauren Shedleski placed eighth (125-6, 38.26m).
In the shot put invite section, Lucciano Pizarro put up a season-best 62-4 (19.00m) to take third overall while Duane Knisely set a PR with the ninth-best throw in Penn State history, a 61-9.75 (18.84m) effort, to finish right behind his teammate in fourth place. In the women's invite, Mallory Kauffman was the top collegian in the field, going 55-9.25 (17.00m).
In the men's triple jump, Emi Erekosima finished eighth with a 47-7.75 (14.52m) leap while Thomas' 41-4.5 (12.61m) beat her previous PR by 0.25 inches and improved her tenth-best mark in school history. Behind Thomas in sixth was Lizzie Schreiber in ninth with a 39-8.75 (12.11m)
MULTI-EVENT SUMMARY
Maddie Pitts finished third overall in the heptathlon, increasing her own claim on the eighth-best mark in Penn State history with a 5,283-point effort in Miami. Pitts set PRs in the 100-meter hurdles (14.47) and the javelin throw (92-2, 28.11m) in her career outing. Allison Spalding completed her first-ever heptathlon, scoring 4,591 points.
UP NEXT
Penn State stays in Pennsylvania next week, traveling a short way down the highway to Lewisburg for the Bison Outdoor Classic, hosted by Bucknell on April 13 and 14.
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