University of Pittsburgh Athletics
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Tennessee Relays
Pitt Wins SMR in Tennessee; Huge PRs Set at Bucknell
4/11/2015 12:00:00 AM | Track & Field
Complete Results - Tennessee | Day One Results - Bucknell
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Highlighted by the women's Sprint Medley Relay team winning at the Tennessee Relays and the Pitt long distance squad setting major personal-records at the Bison Classic, the University of Pittsburgh men's and women's track and field team concluded action on Saturday night at two separate track meets.
The Pitt sprinters, throwers and jumpers wrapped up action at the Tennessee Relays in Knoxville, while the long distance team will conclude their meet tomorrow at Bucknell.
The Panthers' team of Dominique Watkins, Khadeja Kearney, Laila Ismail and Evann Thompson took home Pitt's lone first place finish of the meet in the 1,600 Sprint Medley Relay.
The quartet dominated the event and was eight seconds clear of Southern Illinois who took second place. Pitt ran a season-best time of 3:53.39 which was only eight seconds off the school record.
In the women's 4x100 Meter Relay, the same four posted Pitt's second fastest time of the season and placed seventh overall by crossing the line in 46.49.
On the men's side in the same event, Josh Mindlin, Christopher Tate, Ashad Johnson-Conley and Chris Spadaro finished eighth in a time of 42.11.
Andrew Wells followed up his school record Hammer Throw performance on Thursday night with a season-best throw of 52.00m in the Discus on Saturday. His distance was good for sixth place overall.
Other solid performances in the field included Taylor Slaney in the Javelin and Paige Lumley in the Triple Jump.
Slaney was the top collegiate finisher in the Jav and took second place overall with a throw of 46.29m (151-10), which was the second best distance of the season for the senior school record holder. Fellow senior Brooke Shasteen was sixth in the same event with a toss of 39.59m.
Lumley made the finals of the Triple Jump and placed fourth overall out of 31 athletes with a distance of 11.94m (39-02.25 feet).
Sophomore Ethan Shalaway, the ACC leader in the Javelin this season, was three meters off his top throw of the season with a heave of 65.36m which was good for seventh place overall.
Returning to the track where she spent the previous four years, grad student Hana Casalnova posted her fastest time as a Panther and ran Pitt's fastest time of the season in the 1,500 Meter Run with a 4:31.51 which was good for sixth place overall. In the opening heat of the event, freshman Beth Shenck won her heat in a PR time of 4:36.28 which placed her 12th overall. Those two paced six Pitt participants in the event.
In the men's 1,500 Meter Run, freshman Nate Sloan was second in his heat with a career-best time of 3:52.55. Senior Cullen Davis ran a 3:52.90 in the featured heat. Sloan and Davis placed 20th and 21st, respectively.
In the 3,000 Meter Steeplechase, freshman Caroline DeFrank set a massive PR and finished second in her heat with a time of 11:20.40. She placed 16th overall.
It was an impressive showing for the Pitt women in the 5,000 Meter Run as four of the five participants set PRs. Hillary Boxheimer led the charge with a personal-best 16:59.24 which placed her sixth overall. Following her with PRs were Amy Kelly (9th -- 17:03.17), Ariel Pastore-Sebring (12th -- 17:22.40) and Alexandra Cady (21st -- 17:34.70).
