Three Panthers Claim Victories At Nittany Lion Challenge

Saturday, January 11

University Park, PA

Pitt

Penn State Challenge

Three Panthers Claim Victories At Nittany Lion Challenge

1/13/2020 11:48:00 AM | Track & Field

Results

UNIVERSITY PARK, PA – The University of Pittsburgh track and field program opened up their 2020 year with a strong showing at the Nittany Lion Challenge this weekend at the Multi-Sport Facility/Horace Ashenfelter III Indoor Track hosted by Penn State. Pitt saw multiple personal-best performances while notching three victories.

The Panthers most dominant performance of the afternoon came in the women's 200m dash where Pitt saw four athletes place inside the top-5 of the event. Junior Nikki Scherer led the way for the Panthers as she notched the victory in 24.31 seconds, the second fastest time in the ACC and 14^th fastest in the NCAA so far this season. Jaylyn Aminu finished in second place in a personal best time of 24.88 seconds while Eddita Pessima claimed third with a personal best time of 24.99 seconds. Senior Genaya Johnson rounded out the solid performance with a fifth place finish in 25.36 seconds.

The Pitt hurdlers continued their strong performance on the track as Pessima claimed her first victory of the season in the 60 meter hurdles, crossing the finish line in a season-best 8.45 seconds in the finals. Senior Aysha Muhammad also posted a strong showing in the final as she claimed fourth place, finishing in 8.77 seconds. On the men's side, Shyheim Wright posted a second place finish in the 60 meter hurdles final, crossing the finish line in second place in a season-best time of 8.07 seconds.

Junior Breanna Phillips had a great showing in the 600m dash on Saturday as she was able to claim the victory, finishing in a season-best time of 1:32.52. Three other Panthers earned top-6 finishes in the event as Monica McNeil came in fourth in a personal best time of 1:37.19, Alexis Leech finished in fifth in 1:37.19 and Nina Crawford claimed sixth place with a personal best time of 1:38.02.

Aminu put together another second place finish in the 60m dash as she posted a season-best time of 7.61 seconds while Flora Ahiarakwe notched a fourth place finish in the 400m dash, crossing the finish line in 58.34 seconds.

In field events, the Panthers saw four take home top-5 finishes on Saturday as transfer Abena Atuobi opened things up with a third place finish in the shot put with a throw of 14.35m. In the pole vault, Lauren Corbitt posted a third place finish as she cleared a season-best height of 3.26m. A pair of freshman had strong performances in the weight throw for Pitt as Shannah Mallett took home fourth place with a throw of 16.43m and Laurel Kun took fifth with a heave of 16.15m, a new personal best.

The women's 4x400m relay quartet of Ahiarakwe, Crawford, Phillips and Scherer posted a second place finish in 3:45.01, the fastest time in the ACC and 15^th fastest in the NCAA so far this season. On the men's side, the team of Matt Wilson, Greg Lauray, Matthew Thompson and Cobe Wiggins notched a fourth place finish in 3:19.48.

The Panthers will return to action next weekend as they travel to Blacksburg, Va. for the Virginia Tech Invitational at the Rector Field House. The two-day meet will begin on Friday, Jan. 17 and run through Saturday, Jan. 18.

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