March 31, 2008
PITTSBURGH--Members of the Pitt men's and women's track and field teams competed in the Western PA Championships in Pittsburgh and Raleigh Relays in Raleigh, N.C. this weekend. Both teams posted strong performances in each of the competitions.
At the Western PA Championships, Heather Lezanic (Indiana, Pa./Marion Center) took seventh place in the 5000 meters, while teammate Kari Weimerskirch (Tiffin, Ohio/Mohawk) came in fourth in the 100 meter hurdles.
In the field events, Kristin Johnson (Somerset, Pa./Somerset) took second place in high jump. Freshman Wunmi Fapohunda (Monroeville, Pa./Gateway) came in second place in the long jump and eighth place in the triple jump, with distances of 5.37 meters and 10.28 meters respectively.
For the men, freshman Maka Mudekunye (Harare, Zimbabwe/Prince Edward School) garnered an impressive eighth place finish out of over 30 runners in the finals of the 100 meters. In the 400 meter hurdles, William Grinstead (Hornell, N.Y./Hornell) took fourth place, registering a time of 56.75.
Freshman James Pittenger (Warminster, Pa./William Tennent) grabbed fourth place in the men's high jump with a height of 1.90 meters.
Both teams also had further success in North Carolina at the Raleigh Relays.
Alexandra Briggs (Washington, Pa./Washington) and freshman Anna Yoney (Irwin, Pa./Norwin) took eighth and 17th place, respectively, in the 1500 meter run. Pitt senior Suzette Bossart (Greensburg, Pa./Greensburg Salem) grabbed fourth place in the finals of the 5000 meter run with a time of 19:04.03.
In the finals of the 100 meter hurdles, Pitt junior Mycaiah Clemons (New Kensington, Pa./Virginia Tech) took fifth place, clocking in at 14.21 and, later, 11th place in the 400 meter hurdles. Senior distance runner Amy Ruffolo (Wexford, Pa./Duquesne) claimed fourth place in the 3000 meter steeplechase event.
Tori Toso, a freshman, came in third place in the pole vault. Toso (Reading, Pa./West Lawn) finished with a height of 3.35 meters. Senior teammate, Kim Rorabaugh (Clymer, PA/Purchase Line) finished second in the hammer throw.
For the men's team, Curtis Larimer (Colorado Springs, Colo./Palmer) narrowly missed the top three in the finals of the 10,000 meter run. Larimer took fourth place with a time of 30:52.99.
Junior Ron Walter (Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin) further extended his pole-vault success with a third place finish this weekend. Meanwhile, in the javelin throw, junior Matt Raquet (Reading, Pa./Holy Cross) came in sixth place with a distance of 57.04 meters.
The Panthers will return to action this weekend when they travel to Palo Alto, Calif., for the Stanford Invitational and to Austin, Texas, for the Texas Relays.
For complete results from this weekend, please visit the following links:
Western PA Championships
Raleigh Relays
