Panthers Break A Pair of School Records In Final Regular Season Meets

Friday, April 30

Lexington, KY

Pitt

Kentucky Invitational

Panthers Break A Pair of School Records In Final Regular Season Meets

5/2/2021 11:30:00 AM | Track & Field

Kentucky Invitational Results Mountaineer Twilight Results

PITTSBURGH – The Pitt track and field team closed out their regular season slate this weekend with a pair of split squad meets in Kentucky and West Virginia. The successful final weekend concluded with Ally Brunton and Josh Higgins taking down school records while multiple others notched victories to send Pitt into the postseason on a high note.

In all, Pitt notched two school records, 12 victories and seven top-10 program marks throughout the final weekend of the regular season.

MOUNTAINEER TWILIGHT
The Panthers distance squad had a huge night in West Virginia as they were able to combine for five victories while also breaking two school records.

Brunton continued the best outdoor campaign of her Pitt career by claiming her first school record. The senior posted the victory in the 1500m run with a huge personal record time of 4:19.35 to break a 15 year old school record in the event which was previously held by Maureen McCandless. Brunton now holds the top time in program history in the 1500m and the fourth fastest 800m time in program history.

After watching Brunton take down a school record, Higgins decided to do the same in the 3000m steeplechase as he claimed victory with a big personal record time of 8:45.75. His time broke Mike Schurko's school record in the event, the longest standing outdoor school record (49 years, 1972). Higgins' time is currently No. 18 in the NCAA this year in the 3000m steeplechase. Teammate Zach Lefever posted a personal record time of 8:54.28 seconds to take home second place in the race, the third fastest time in the event in program history.

The distance crew accounted for three other victories on Saturday evening as senior Nick Wolk posted the win in the 1500m run with a time of 3:46.78 while Jack Miller took third in 3:49.16. Dante Watson earned his first win of the outdoor campaign in the 800m dash as he finished in 1:50.65 while Jack Balick and Kendall Branan notched third and fourth place finishes, respectively. Luke Henseler closed out the successful night for the distance runners with a win in the 5000m run as he finished in 14:37.40.

Senior Noah Walker continued to add to his strong outdoor campaign as he claimed three victories to lead the Panthers. Walker opened up his day with a big personal record throw of 200-2 (61.02m) in the hammer throw to claim victory. His throw marked the second best hammer throw distance in program history. He then backed that performance up with two more victories as he claimed gold in the discus with a toss of 184-1 (56.10m) and in the javelin with a throw of 184-8 (56.29m).

In other field events, senior Koryn Jozwiakowski posted her first victory of the season in the triple jump as she notched a personal record distance of 38-7 (11.76m), the 10^th best leap in program history in the event. In the high jump, senior Greg Lauray posted a victory as he cleared a season-best height of 6-8.75 (2.05m) while Lydia Bottelier continued her steady climb up the top-10 charts as she notched a second place finish with a personal record clearance of 5-7.75 (1.72m), the fifth best leap in program history.

Brianna Spirnak had another strong showing in the javelin as she claimed victory with a throw of 144-5 (44.03m) while freshman Ilse Steigenga finished in second place in the long jump with a leap of 18-9 (5.71m). Shannah Mallett posted a fourth place finish in the hammer throw with a toss of 167-5 (51.03m) while Foluke Olujide-Ajibade took fifth with a personal record throw of 164-3 (50.07m), the eighth best toss in program history.

Senior Breanna Phillips was also to claim her first victory of the season in the 400m hurdles on Saturday as she crossed the finish line with a season-best time of 1:01.17. Cobe Wiggins notched a second place finish in the 400m hurdles as he posted a personal best time of 54.69 seconds.

KENTUCKY INVITATIONAL
The Panthers sent a handful of athletes to Kentucky this weekend for the Kentucky Invitational and in all claimed 13 top-10 finishes across the two-day meet.

The Panthers 4x400m relay squad of Felix Wolter, Lonzell Feagin, Matt Wilson and Ade Jones-Roundtree claimed the lone victory for Pitt as they clocked in at 3:09.19, a season-best time for the quartet. The same four also collected a third place finish in the 4x100m relay as they crossed the finish line in 41.22 seconds.

Jones-Roundtree had a strong weekend as he posted a second place finish in the 400m dash in 46.85 seconds while also notching an eighth place finish in the 200m dash in 21.29 seconds. Feagin posted a seventh place finish in the 400m dash in 47.95 seconds and a 10^th place finish in the 200m dash in a season-best time of 21.35 seconds.

Crockett Schooler posted a strong fifth place finish in the 400m hurdles as he crossed the finish line in 54.13 seconds while Wilson finished in 10^th place in 56.25 seconds.

On the women's side, Aysha Muhammad had a strong showing as she took home a sixth place finish in the 400m hurdles in 1:02.98 and an eighth place finish in the 100m hurdles in 14.07 seconds. She qualified for the finals in the 100m hurdles with a season-best time of 13.94 seconds. Freshman Jazmyn Potts posted a seventh place finish in the 400m hurdles in 1:03.39 while Kaneisha Raymond took eighth place in 1:03.43.

NEXT UP

Pitt will have a week off before heading down to Raleigh, NC for the 2021 ACC Outdoor Track & Field Championships hosted by NC State at Paul Derr Track & Field Facility.
The three-day meet will begin Thursday, May 13 and run through Saturday, May 15.

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