Opening Weekend Concludes With Multiple Victories and Top-10 Performances

Friday, March 19

Coral Gables, FL

Pitt

Hurricane Invitational

Opening Weekend Concludes With Multiple Victories and Top-10 Performances

3/22/2021 9:33:00 AM | Track & Field

Hurricane Invitational Results Stan Romanoski Open Results

PITTSBURGH – The University of Pittsburgh track and field team opened up their 2021 outdoor campaign with a pair of meets as they competed in the Hurricane Invitational in Coral Gables and the Stan Romanoski Open in Morgantown. For the weekend, the Panthers posted several event victories and seven top-10 all-time marks.

STAN ROMANOSKI OPEN
The Panthers had a strong Saturday afternoon at West Virginia as they were able to produce seven top-10 all-time marks to open the season.

Senior Noah Walker led the way for the Panthers with a pair of top-10 marks as he posted two victories. Walker opened his weekend with a big PR throw in the hammer throw that traveled 194'10" (59.38m) to secure the victory, the second best heave in program history. He then backed that up with another win in the discus with a PR toss of 176'8" (53.85m), the second best in program history in the event.

Senior Abena Atuobi had a dominant showing in the shot put on Saturday as she blew away the field with a toss of 48'3.25" (14.71m), a new personal record toss and the fifth best in program history in the event. Sophomore Brianna Spirnak also posted a big victory in the javelin as she notched a new PR with a heave of 158'5" (48.28m), the fourth best toss in program history.

Pitt had a pair of top-10 marks in the women's hammer throw as freshman Foluke Olujide-Ajibade took home second place with a toss of 162'8" (49.58m), the seventh best in program history, and sophomore Shannah Mallett finished in third place with a heave of 160'9" (49.01m), the eighth best in program history.

On the track, senior Ally Brunton had a nice showing in the 800m dash as she won the event in 2:09.56, the fifth fastest time in the event in program history. Freshman Sam Otis was able to collect the victory in the men's 1500m run as he crossed the finish line in 4:06.70 while senior Alexis Leech was able to secure the victory in the 400m hurdles in 1:06.73 and freshman Jill Paciga came in second place in 1:07.14.

Pitt dominated both the men's and women's 1500m steeplechase on Saturday as Emily Brown and Josh Higgins collected victories for the Panthers. Brown crossed the finish line in 4:59.24 while Brenda Ayuk and Veronica Sanchez finished close behind in second and third, respectively. On the men's side, Higgins narrowly beat out fellow Panther Evan Addison as he crossed in 4:19.98 while Addison finished in 4:19.99. Jack Miller, Zach Lefever and Ethan Maher crossed in third, fourth and fifth, respectively in the event.

Pitt had three women finish in the top-4 on Saturday in the 100m hurdles as freshman Jazmyn Potts led the way with a second place finish in 14.83 seconds. Fellow Freshman Folake Olujide-Ajibade came in third in 14.96 seconds and Sydney Muhando took home fourth in 15.01 seconds.

The Panthers went 1-2 in the women's 4x400m relay as the squad of Faith Min, Caroline Bolen, Brunton and Megan Thai crossed the finish line first in 4:05.87 while the quartet of Eliza Brennan, Leech, Paciga and Potts came in second in 4:14.49.

HURRICANE INVITATIONAL
Pitt posted four victories across the two-day meet down in the sunshine state this weekend as they had a pair of individual winners and a pair of relay winners.

Senior Aysha Muhammad had a strong start to her final outdoor campaign on Saturday as she was able to secure her first victory of the season in the 400m hurdles. The senior crossed the finish line in 1:02.61 while fellow Panther Kaneisha Raymond crossed right behind her in second place in 1:02.99.

The other individual victory for the Panthers on Saturday came from Felix Wolter in the javelin as the senior downed the competition with a toss of 176'1" (53.68m).

The men's 4x100m relay team posted a time of 41.18 seconds on Saturday, a strong opening weekend time for the quartet of Lonzell Feagin, Ade Jones-Roundtree, Matt Thompson and Matt Wilson. On the women's side, the team of Flora Ahiarakwe, Lauren Carter, Eddita Pessima and Nikki Scherer also notched the win with a time of 46.49 seconds.

Jones-Roundtree had an impressive season opener in the 400m dash on Saturday as he collected a second place finish in 47.08 seconds, narrowly falling in the race to former Pitt great Brycen Stratling (46.47) who was running unattached. Feagin posted a third place finish in the race in 47.76 seconds while Danté Watson posted a fourth place finish in 48.11 seconds.

In the men's long jump, senior Kollin Smith opened his final season with a third place finish as he posted a leap of 23'3.25" (7.09m). Smith then posted a third place finish in the 110m hurdles with a time of 14.51 seconds while Crockett Schooler came in fourth in 14.65 seconds and Raymond Oriakhi posted a fifth place finish in 15.37 seconds.

Pessima opened her season in the 100m hurdles with a third place finish as she crossed the finish line in 13.75 seconds while Muhammad came in fourth in 14.33 seconds. In the men's 400m hurdles, Schooler notched a second place finish in 53.71 seconds while Wilson and Oriakhi came in third and fourth, respectively.

The weekend came to a close with the 4x400m relays on Saturday and the Panthers were able to post a pair of second place finishes. On the women's side, Ahiarakwe, Muhammad, Pessima and Scherer crossed the finish line in 3:55.39 while the men's quartet of Kendall Branan, Schooler, Thompson and Watson posted a time of 3:13.45, narrowly falling to Miami.

NEXT UP

Pitt will send athletes to three different meets next week as they will compete in the Texas Relays and Raleigh Relays from Thursday, Mar. 25 until Saturday, Mar. 27. Pitt will also take part in the Carnegie Mellon Invitational in Pittsburgh on Saturday, Mar. 27.

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