Nicole Kelly Captures Heptathlon Crown At Big East Championships
5/7/2001 12:00:00 AM | Track & Field
May 7, 2001
PISCATAWAY, N.J.-Pittsburgh's Nicole Kelly successfully defended her heptathlon crown this past weekend at the 2001 Big East Outdoor Track and Field Championships, hosted by Rutgers University at the Bauer Track and Field Complex. For the competition, the women's squad finished fifth with 80 points, while the men's team placed 12th, earning 32 points.
Kelly (Williamsburg, Va./Bruton) won the heptathlon with a record 5,062 points, breaking the mark she set at the 2000 championship. The Panthers had a strong showing in the heptathlon as a whole, placing two other athletes in the top seven. Senior Bettina Lee (Pittsburgh, Pa./Schenley) finished third with 4,904, just 31 points behind St. John's senior Renee Castelo. Sophomore Stacey Taylor (West Mifflin, Pa./West Mifflin) placed seventh with 4,352 points, which also was a mere two points less than Notre Dame's Betsy Lazzeri.
The 4x800-meter relay team of Neemah Payne (Georgetown, Guyana/ Bishop's), DeAnna Cole (Darby, Pa./Penn Wood), Beth Rocks (Philadelphia, Pa./Nazareth Academy) and Janine Jones (Newport News, Va./Menchville) earned a second-place finish with a time of 8:56.84.
Also, the squad of Payne, Mera Belisle (Georgetown, Guyana/Bishop's), Trenace Elliott (Chesapeake, Va./Western Branch) and Tia Tabb (Newport News, Va./Menchville) placed third in both the 4x100-meter and 4x400-meter relay events.
Tabb also earned all-Big East honors, which are given to the top three finishers in each event, in the 100-meter hurdles (third) and 400-meter hurdles. Belisle, as well, placed third in the 200-meter dash with a time of 24.23.
For the men's team, junior Patrick Harding (Georgetown, Guyana/Queen's College) was the top Panther finisher as he placed second in the shot put with a score of 16.84 meters. Harding also captured all-conference plaudits in the discus, finishing with a score of 50.44 meters.
Other top finishers for Pittsburgh were senior James Neese (Baden, Pa./Ambridge), who placed fifth in the shot put (15.59), and freshman Mike Stellefson (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley), who finished fifth in the discus.
Pittsburgh returns to action next weekend at the Clemson Last Chance event before the IC4A/ECAC Championships, which take place May 18 in Princeton, N.J.