Pitt
Florida Relays
Hayes Sets School Record in Steeplechase
4/1/2016 12:00:00 AM | Track & Field
SAN FRANCISCO – Sophomore Kelly Hayes shattered the steeplechase school record while many other athletes met ACC qualifying marks and set PRs in three separate meets for the Pitt track and field teams on Friday.
“Being in Florida, I was really excited to see the results from out west,” head coach Alonzo Webb said. “Here in Florida, Avery [Donnell Taylor] had a huge PR in the 400 and Chris Tate is on a roll right now. He is gaining confidence every time he runs. Hopefully we can finish up tomorrow with a good performance. The weather in Florida is not supposed to be great but we will see what happens.”
SAN FRANCISCO STATE DISTANCE CARNIVAL:
Hayes broke Pitt’s school record by 17 seconds en route to a third place overall finish (out of 56). Hayes’ time of 10:22.08 surpassed Nicki Angstadt’s time of 10:39.43 which she set back in 2005.
Hayes was the first collegiate finishers and was only behind Allix Potratz-Lee who ran unattached and set a meet record (10:09.12) and Erica Richardson of the Boise Betties (10:21.24).
Elsewhere, senior Hillary Boxheimer placed fifth in the 5,000 meter run with a time of 16:46, which is an ACC qualifying time.
Sophomore Melanie Vlasic in the 1,500 and freshman Gillian Schriever in the 5,000 meter run both set personal-records and reached ACC qualifying times.
Vlasic finished fourth in her heat and established a new lifetime best time of 4:27.23. Schriever was 10th in her heat and crossed the line in 16:31.95 which bettered her previous PR by four seconds.
Nate Sloan ran in the men’s 1,500 and took third in his heat with a time of 3:53.84.
Junior Desmond Palmer set a PR in the 110 meter hurdles and broke 14 seconds for the first time in his career with a time of 13.99. He placed 24th overall and was the ninth collegiate finisher. He also ran a 50.84 in the 400 meter hurdles which placed him fifth overall.
Seniors Chris Tate and Donnell Taylor each ran a 47.24 in the 400 meter dash and were 15th and 16th, respectively. It was a PR for Taylor.
The men’s 4x400 meter relay team comprised of Brylan Slay, Joshua McDonald, Chris Tate and Donnell Taylor ran a time of 3:10.55 in the prelims which was eighth overall and qualified them for the finals which will take place on Saturday.
LOOKING AHEAD:
The Panthers conclude action at the Florida Relays and the San Francisco State Distance Carnival on Saturday. Follow @Pitt_TF_XC on Twitter and Instagram for continuous updates.
