Pitt
State Farm Games
Nine Panthers Set Postseason Qualifying Marks
1/25/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Track & Field
Jan. 25, 2009
PITTSBURGH — Nine University of Pittsburgh track and field members set postseason qualifying marks at the State Farm Games held at the WVU Shell Building in Morgantown, W. Va. Saturday, January 24th.
On the men’s side, Jermaine Lowery hit the Big East qualifying time in the 60 meter hurdles, finishing fourth in 8.38. Dan Kwiatowski and Garrett Larkin continued to excel this indoor season, with both reaching qualifying marks in the men’s shot put. Kwiatkowski’s heave of 15.84 meters was good for first place and punches his ticket for the IC4A meet later this season while Larkin’s mark of 15.47 meters earned him third place and a Big East qualifying mark. Though Kwiatkowski bested his teammate in the shot put, Larkin won bragging rights in the weight throw with his second place finish and mark of 14.53 meters.
Maka Mudekunye enjoyed a stellar performance on the track, winning both the men’s 60 meter and 200 meter dashes with times of 7.11 and 23.31 respectively. Dontave Cowsette finished first in the 500 meter dash, crossing the line at 1:06.01 and was also a member of the 4x400 meter relay team which took top honors, finishing at 3:27.22. Joining Cowsette on the relay team was Johnny Dogun, Anthony Casiano and Brione Reid-Carthan. Reid-Carthan also tacked on a second place finish in the 800 meter dash, clocking a 1:57.63.
Greg Kareis, Matt Norwood, Kyle Kaminski and John Morrow paced the Panthers in the distance races. Kareis was second in the 1,000 meter run (2:34.04), Norwood second in the one mile (4:32.39) and Kaminski and Morrow second and third respectively in the 5,000 meter run.
In other field events, Jay Pittenger captured first place in the high jump with a mark of 1.86 meters. Alonzo Webb III finished close behind in third with a jump of 1.75 meters. Folarin Ijelu placed second in the long jump with a leap of 6.65 meters.
On the women’s side, Kaetlyn Brown started the qualifying times reached in the 60 meter dash, crossing the line in 7.82 seconds. In the 500 meter dash, Pitt went one-two with Kari Hedderick leading the way with a Big East qualifying mark of 1:17.11. Susan Martinez finished right behind at 1:19.60 for second place.
The women dominated the 800 meter run, finishing one-two-three for a podium sweep. Miya Johnson’s 2:20.25 set the pace with Gizelle Joshua following close behind in second at 2:28.32 and Melissa Vignetti in third with a time of 2:29.12.
Four Big East qualifying marks and an ECAC mark were met by Pitt women in the field events. Victoria Toso and Kendall Butch placed second and third respectively in the pole vault with Toso meeting the ECAC mark with vault of 3.60 meters and Butch hitting the Big East sweet spot at 3.40 meters.
In the long jump, Janessa Murphy took first with a leap of 5.64 meters, satisfying the Big East qualifying mark. Shanae’ Thomas also stood atop the field and met a Big East qualifying mark, jumping 11.39 meters in the triple jump.
Sarah Anderson captured first place in the weight throw and met the Big East qualifying mark with her toss of 15.78 meters. She also took second in the shot put with a mark of 12.41 meters. Teammate Kayla Comrie’s 14.89 meter heave gave her second in the weight throw.
Pitt will be back in action next week, returning to University Park, Pa. and the campus of Penn State for the Penn State National Open. The Panthers previously competed at the PSU Open on January 17th. The National Open will be held January 30-31.
