Panthers forge through Raleigh rain and cold

Battling tough weather conditions, the Pitt men’s and women’s track teams accumulated several… Battling tough weather conditions, the Pitt men’s and women’s track teams accumulated several top-10 finishes at the Raleigh Relays in North Carolina this past weekend.

“Overall, the team had a decent performance given the weather conditions. It was just too cold and rainy,” Pitt coach Alonzo Webb said. “We don’t use the weather as an excuse, though – we have to perform, and we had a few highlights.”

Senior Kim Rorabaugh finished second in the women’s hammer throw with a distance of 166 feet, 5 inches.

For the men, junior Ron Walter finished third in the pole vault finals at a height of 15 feet, 5 inches.

On the track, senior Curtis Larimer ran a personal best and placed fourth in the 10,000-meter run with a time of 30 minutes, 52.99 seconds. Junior Mycaiah Clemons placed fifth overall in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 14.21 seconds.

Several Panthers had solid performances in the relay events. The men’s 4×800-meter team finished sixth with a time of 7:48.02. The team consisted of freshman Aaron Taylor, sophomore Lame King, senior Eric Flemming and three-time All-American Sam Bair.

The Pitt women’s sprint medley placed seventh with a time of 4:04.95. Shantea Calhoun, Shanea Calhoun, Kari Hedderick and Gizelle Joshua ran for the Panthers.

This weekend the team will be splitting up to attend the Texas Relays and the Colonial Relays in Virginia. With the remaining meets the Panthers are looking to improve in order to qualify for the NCAA, Big East and ECAC championships.

“Each week we’re going to continue to get better and hit as many qualifying marks as we can,” Webb said.