PITT WOMEN WIN FOUR EVENTS AT FRED HARDY INVITATIONAL
3/25/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track & Field
March 25, 2007
RICHMOND, Va. - The Pitt women's track and field team opened its 2007 outdoor season this weekend at the Fred Hardy Invitational hosted by Richmond. The Panthers won four events including the 400 meters, 400-meter hurdles, high jump and hammer throw.
In the 400 meters, Pitt junior Shantea Calhoun (New Haven, Conn./Wilbur Cross) ran a personal-best time of 55.67. Pitt had three top-10 placewinners in this event as Shanea Calhoun (New Haven, Conn./Wilbur Cross) took fifth at 58.15, and Raquel Bender (Penn Hills, Pa./Penn Hills) came in seventh at 58.38.
Senior Julianna Reed (Gibsonia, Pa./Hampton) won the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 1:00.33. She currently holds the school record in this event with a time of 57.45. In second place was Selena Sappleton (Brooklyn, N.Y./A.P. Randolph) at 1:02.49.
The high jump was won by freshman Kendall Butch (Butler, Pa./Butler) who recorded a height of 1.65 meters. She also finished second in the pole vault with a height of 3.35 meters. In the hammer throw, senior Kim Rorabaugh (Clymer, Pa./Purchase Line) took first with a distance of 51.92 meters.
Pitt had several other sprinters place in the top five of their events. In the 200 meters, Bender finished third with a time of 24.60, and sophomore Mycaiah Clemons (New Kensington, Pa./Virginia Tech) took fifth at 25.39. Pitt's Ali Briggs (Washington, Pa./Washington) finished fourth in the 800 meters with a personal-best 2:17.89.
The Panthers dominated the 10,000 meters. Junior Nikki Bielick (Greensburg, Pa./Greensburg Salem) finished second with a time of 39.50.74. Suzy Bossart (Greensburg, Pa./Greensburg Salem) placed fourth at 40:50.34, and Monica Bhattacharjee (Penfield, N.Y./Penfield) took fifth at 40:55.48.
In the 100-meter hurdles, Clemons came in third at 14.70. Sophomore Melissa Vignetti (Pittsburgh, Pa./McMurray) placed fifth in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 12:19.91. Janessa Murphy (Malvern, Pa./Great Valley) finished fourth in the triple jump with a distance of 11.25 meters.
Pitt had two teams finish in the top five of the 400-meter relay. The "B" squad came in second with a time of 48.19, and the "A" squad placed fifth at 49.20. The Panthers also took third and fourth in the 1,600-meter relay. The "A" group ran a time of 3:53.81, and the "B" squad finished at 3:54.53. In the 3,200-meter relay, the "B" squad ran a time of 9:28.71 for second, and the "A" group finished at 9:43.47 for fourth.
Next up for the team will be the Asics Liberty Invitational and the Stanford Invitational, both held next weekend.