Pitt
Penn Relays
Pitt Closes out Regular Season with Penn Relays
4/30/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track & Field
April 30, 2006
PHILADELPHIA - The women's track and field team finished their regular season at the annual Penn Relays competition this weekend. With a new school record in the pole vault, the competition gave many of Pitt's competitors to turn in some of their top marks of the season.
Senior Marissa Dudek (Pottstown, Pa./St. Pius X) set a new school record in the pole vault with a height of 4.00 meters. She held the previous record of 3.91 meters, set in 2004. Dudek finished third in the Championship division, and her vault was also a Regional-qualifying performance. Sophomore Nicole Pitchford (Ellwood City, Pa./Riverside) placed eighth in the a separate division after vaulting at a height of 3.65 meters.
In the 400-meter hurdles, Julianna Reed (Pittsburgh, Pa./Hampton) set a new season-best with a Regional-qualifying time of 58.52 for sixth place. Martina Hallman (Miami, Fla./Miami Southridge) ran for a time of 1:00.43 and 21st place, and Joelle Ambrose (Sarver, Pa./Freeport) finished at 1:04.44.
Pitt had two competitors in the Eastern division of the long jump. Hallman placed 10th with a mark of 5.57 meters, and freshman Janessa Murphy (Malvern, Pa./Great Murphy) took 17th with a mark of 6.41 meters. In the discus, freshman Stacey Bilan (Doylestown, Pa./Central Bucks West) threw for a mark of 40.51 meters. And in the javelin, freshman Hayle Ritchey (Penn Hills, Pa./Penn Hils) led the Panthers with 41.48 meters and eighth place. Senior Carolyn Kitchens (Boone, N.C./Appalachian State) finished 16th with a mark of 38.70 meters, and Jill Knopsnyder (Somerset, Pa./Somerset) threw for a distance of 36.11 meters.
The competition, known for having a large volume of relays, brought out some of the team's top performances of the season. In their first 400-meter relay, Pitt ran for a season-best time of 45.91. Running in the relay was Shanea Calhoun (New Haven, Conn./Wilbur Cross), Murphy, Raquel Bender (Penn Hills, Pa./Penn Hills) and Shantea Calhoun (New Haven, Conn./Wilbur Cross). The 400-meter relay team went on to win the ECAC division as well. With a time of 45.94, Pitt's relay team consisted of Shanea Calhoun, Reed, Bender and Shantea Calhoun.
The 800-meter relay team set a new season-best time and took first place, finishing at 1:35.47 in the ECAC division. Pitt's team was made up of Shanea Calhoun, Bender, Reed and Shantea Calhoun. The same relay team also ran for a time of 1:36.14 in this event.
In the ECAC division of the 1,600-meter relay, Pitt finished third with a time of 3:41.67, an NCAA Regional-qualifying mark. Pitt's relay team included Reed, Hallman, Selena Sappleton (Brooklyn, N.Y./A. Philip Randolph) and Shantea Calhoun. The relay team also finished with a time of 3:43.65 in a separate relay.
The next competition for the Panthers will be the Big East Championships next weekend at Storrs, Conn. The Panther women enter the competition holding several top marks in the conference and will look to defend their title.
