UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State track & field delivered multiple strong results as it began the Knights Invite and continued in the Raleigh Relays.
The women’s 200-meter at the Knights Invite saw Marie-Éloïse LeClair turn in a performance to remember. She ran a meet-winning 22.75 mark in the 200-meter dash, the second-fastest time in program history. Alexandria North ran a 24.09 in that event, cracking the top 20 in the 74-runner field.
Staying in Orlando, true freshman Sasha Garnett delivered in the women’s shot put, placing fourth overall at 53-0.25 (16.16m), good for ninth all-time in program history. Freshman Skye Petrie-Cameron placed fifth at 52-0.75 (15.87m).
Another record-book entry in Orlando came from Jake Palermo, whose 20.97 in the men’s 200-meter dash sits 10th in program history.
Two all-time top 10s came in the final event at the Raleigh Relays. Charlotte Costich ran a 32:57.53 and Claire Daniels a 33:18.60, moving into third and fifth all-time, respectively, in the women’s 10,000-meter run.
EVENT SUMMARY
The day began at the Knights Invite, where Audrey Friedman captured a third-place finish in the women’s javelin, posting a 151-7.00 (46.22m). The men’s javelin saw Nolan Carey throw a 216-9.00 (66.08m), good for second place and a personal record.
The hammer throw teams picked up where they left off after a successful Penn Challenge. Collin Burkhart conquered the field in the men’s event, winning with a 217-2.00 (66.19m), breaking his personal record set last week by one inch.
The women’s competition saw Alex Pancoast place fourth overall at 178-5.00 (54.38m), while Gabi Deglau was one spot behind at 177-11.00 (54.24m). Gabby Cope rounded out the trio, coming in seventh at 160-7.00 (51.70m).
In the women’s 400-meter hurdles, two Nittany Lions placed in the top 10. Addyson White’s seventh-place 1:00.83 was a personal record, while Abasiono Akpan came in 10th at 1:01.88.
Other notable results from the Knights Invitational included Lizzie Schreiber placing sixth in the women’s long jump with a 19-1.50 (5.83m) and Matt DeMatteo, whose personal-best 52.17 in the 400-meter hurdles was good enough for fourth overall.
Wrapping up in Orlando, Bryce Thompson shined in the men’s shot put, taking second place at 58-4.75 (17.80m). Brady Mider finished in fourth with a 55-10.5 (17.03m).
Moving to the Raleigh Relays, Sarah Pickering posted a 4:19.55 in the 1,500-meter run, good for 26th in a field of more than 200 athletes.
Allison Dougherty also impressed in Raleigh, running a 10:37.92 in the women’s 3000-meter steeplechase.
The women’s 5000-meter run featured a quartet of Nittany Lions. Ada Rand recorded a 16:04.23, Katie Dallas finished at 16:32.57, Claire Zubey at 16:49.29 and Eva Kynaston clocked in at 16:54.87. Lea Hatcher’s heat was impacted by a weather delay and is scheduled to run again Saturday.
UP NEXT
Penn State wraps up its split-squad weekend with another day at the Raleigh Relays and the Knights Invite on Saturday. Hatcher’s 5000-meter heat in Raleigh will re-run at 9 a.m., while the Knights Invite begins with the women’s triple jump at 10 a.m.