Track & Field: Two qualify for Big East Championships at Maryland meet

Leah Ulizio and Josiah Rupert both qualified for the Big East Championships last weekend when… Leah Ulizio and Josiah Rupert both qualified for the Big East Championships last weekend when the men’s and the women’s track and field teams competed in the Maryland Terrapin Invitational.

Ulizio qualified in the javelin throw with a toss of 37.18 meters, placing her sixth. For the men, Rupert qualified in the javelin as well, with a 55.60-meter toss, placing him eighth.

The Panthers also recently finished in 17th place at the ECAC/IC4A Championships, which were held in Boston.

The women competed at the Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center, while the men competed at Boston University.

Representing the women sprinters were junior Da’Lynn Mills, sophomore Cambrya Jones, freshman Ashley Woodford and senior Kaetlyn Brown. Mills finished in fifth place with a time of 7.67, and Jones finished in seventh as they participated in the 60-meter event. Woodford finished 14th in the same event. Mills and Jones ran the 200-meter as well, recording times that earned them placements of 12th and 22nd. Brown competed in the 400-meter dash.

Mid-distance runners Kari Hedderick and sophomore Miya Johnson ran for Pitt in the 500-meter and 800-meter events, respectively. Hedderick placed 11th with a time of 1:16:26.

Senior Brianna Broyles finished eighth overall in the finals of the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.71. Freshman Brittany Carroll was 13th overall at the 8.82 mark, and sophomore Jazmin Hunt just barely qualified for the finals with a time of 8.88. Carroll and Hunt took 14th and 15th in the semifinals, respectively.

Standout freshman Rachel McIntosh led Pitt with a top-three finish in the pentathlon, totaling 3,546 points. She placed second in the high jump with a score of 1.7 meters.

Kaitlyn Flynn recorded 3,304 points, tying for eighth in the pentathlon.

Pitt’s 4-by-400-meter relay team turned in a fifth-place performance in the early round, earning a combined time of 3:48.18. The Panthers finished ninth in the finals (3:48.71). The squad was made up of Brown, Broyles, Hedderick and freshman Jonnique Lawrence.

The men’s team recorded three top-five finishes.

The Pitt men’s 4-by-800 team of sophomores Greg Kareis, Dontave Cowsette, Ben Hatch and Elliot Rhodes combined for a time of 7:29.12 to finish second. They dropped nearly six seconds off their previous time.

Competing individually, Kareis finished 13th overall in the mile run. Rhodes was 12th in the 800-meter run, while Hatch and Cowsette were 37th and 38th.

Freshman Tashaun Hill recorded the top individual finish for the men. He finished seventh in the finals of the 55-meter hurdles at 7.56. He also earned third place in his heat of the semifinals.

Sophomore Folarin Ijelu earned fourth place in the triple jump with a recorded distance of 14.94 meters, while senior Brandon Turner finished 11th with a jump of 14.18 meters.

After both individual and team successes, Pitt track and field will travel to Durham, N.C., to compete in the Duke Invitational today and tomorrow.