Pitt
South Florida Invitational
Panthers Tally Eight Podium Finishes at South Florida Invitational
4/7/2024 10:14:00 AM | Track & Field
TAMPA, Fla. – The Pittsburgh Panthers tallied eight podium finishes with three event wins at the South Florida Invitational, hosted by the University of South Florida this weekend.
Daniel Amaya started the meet off strong for the Panthers, winning the first competition, the men's hammer throw, with a mark of 61.65 meters. Uri Arnon followed with a fifth-place finish in the triple jump, leaping 14.52 meters.
The meet then progressed to track events with the 110-meter hurdles. Raymond Oriakhi placed fourth in 14.15 seconds. Pitt once again achieved a fourth-place finish, this time in the 400-meter dash as Malik Ricketts crossed the line in 47.21, a new personal record and the tenth best time in program history. Thomas McDonough was the next Panther to cross the finish line in the same event, for seventh place in 47.92.
The Panthers continued to excel on the track, this time in the 100-meter dash. Darren McQueen Jr. claimed second in 10.14 and Nigel Hussey followed in fourth in 10.26. Stephon Brown claimed an all-time top-10 program time of his own, running a time of 21.31 in the 200-meter race. Brown's time is tenth on the list.
The day concluded with an event win in the men's 4x400-meter relay. The quartet of Malik Ricketts, Raymond Oriakhi, Thomas McDonough and Devin Nugent claimed the crown in 3:10.50.
The women's team didn't miss a beat when they competed the following day. On the field, three Panthers advanced to the final round of the the women's hammer throw. Foluke Olujide-Ajibade finished second with a mark of 58.33 meters, Lanie Bainter finished sixth with a new personal record of 51.78 meters, which is now the eighth best mark in program history, and Niya Crawford finished eighth with a throw of 51.08 meters.
ACC Women's Field Athlete of the Week, Ilse Steigenga took the silver in the women's long jump with a season's best mark of 6.45 meters. Steigenga hit the 6.45-meter mark twice, falling just short of the 6.46-meter winning mark.
In another closely contested competition, freshman Norrah Lemongo won the women's shot put with her personal best 15.68-meter throw. At the end of the series, Lemongo and USF student-athlete Jazmyn James were tied as both hit the 15.68-meter mark. Lemongo won on the tiebreaker criteria of next best throw, which for Lemongo was 15.33-meters.
Senior Taylor Newton placed fifth in the javelin throw with a 38.58-meter toss. Teammates Alesia Rengle and Eva Baldursdottir finished third and fourth respectively in the high jump. Rengle hopped a personal best 1.75-meters to move into a tie for fourth in program history. Baldursdottir cleared the 1.70-meter mark.
Niya Crawford continues to improve in the discus throw. She beat her previous best by a meter with a throw of 44.48-meters for sixth place at the meet and now ranks seventh in program history.
On the track, three Panthers placed in the top ten of the 100-meter hurdles. Folake Olujide-Ajibade ran for fourth in 13.72, Jazmyn Potts placed seventh in 13.80 and Jana Bruses finished tenth in 14.12. Three Panthers placed in the top ten of the 400-meter hurdles as well. Logan Neely (6th, 1:00.76), Aubrey Leneweaver (9th, 1:01.86) and Mackenzie Sullivan (10th, 1:02.09) performed well for the Panthers with Leneweaver setting a PR.
Caleia Johnson ran a great race in the 400-meter dash, taking sixth and setting a new best time of 54.33. Success Duruzor followed right behind Johnson in seventh with her pace of 54.63.
Somiyah Braggs excelled in both of her races, the 100-meter and the 200-meter. The 11.61 second time in the 100 is a new best for Braggs and is tied for sixth in Pitt history. In the 200-meter race, Braggs' finish of fifth came in 23.86 seconds.
The Panthers concluded the meet with a second-place performance in the 4x400 relay. The group of Logan Neely, Caleia Johnson, Success Duruzor and Lydia Bottelier ran a time of 3:42.04.
Next weekend the Panthers will stay in-state at the Bucknell Outdoor Classic in Lewisburg, Pa. from April 12-14.
Players Mentioned
