Track claims more titles

As is the case with many good teams, the Pitt women’s track and field team has a solid core… As is the case with many good teams, the Pitt women’s track and field team has a solid core of upper-class leaders who know what it takes to win, having been the Big East outdoor champions the past two seasons.

In last week’s outdoor debut, the upperclassmen demonstrated on the track what the rest of the team must do in order to have a chance at a three-peat.

Apparently the underclassmen were watching intently.

Following the example set by their upper-class peers, a couple of Pitt sophomores led the way to a superb performance for the women’s team at last weekend’s Asics Liberty Invitational. All told, the women captured eight event titles including the 100-meter sprint, 400-meter hurdles, pole vault, long jump, triple jump, hammer throw, 400-meter relay and the 1,600-meter relay.

Despite the tremendous success, head coach Alonzo Webb did not seem that excited.

“This was more of a low-keyed meet, and although I am pleased with the results, I expected them,” Webb said. “We had a pretty solid performance overall, but it was nothing special.”

Sophomore Raquel Bender stole the show by wining the 100 meters with a time of 12.29, while also being named the Women’s Track Athlete of the Meet. Bender then followed up her winning performance by placing second in the 200 meters.

Fellow sophomore Janessa Murphy, who continues to demonstrate why she is already an early favorite in the Big East, took first place in both the long jump and the triple jump competitions with a distance of 5.60 meters in the long jump and 11.15 meters in the triple jump.

“[Bender and Murphy] are quality athletes whom we expect to get points from each meet,” Webb said of their performance. “I expect them to be near the top at the end of the season, as well as having an outside chance to compete in the national championships.”

Another youngster, freshman Kendall Butch, also took home the top prize by leaping her way to first place in the pole vault with a height of 3.20 meters.

The senior leaders also proved that they have some fight left in them as well. For the second consecutive meet, senior Julianna Reed won the 400-meter hurdles, beating her time from last week and qualifying again for the NCAA regional meet with a time of 59.86. Fellow senior Kim Rorabaugh recorded a distance of 52.66 meters in the hammer throw to earn her a first-place finish as well.

“Even though Julianna thought she could have run faster, her time registered as one of the fastest in the country this season,” Webb said.

Additionally, the women’s team captured two first-place finishes in the 400- and 1,600-meter relays. The 400-meter team ran a time of 47.19, and the 1600-meter relay team finished at 3:48.93.

The only female athlete not competing in the Asics Invitational was senior Nicki Angstadt, who instead flew to California to participate in the Stanford Invitational. Angstadt finished in sixth place in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, while qualifying for the ECACs as well. Her time of 10:42 was her best in two years.

Although not as dominant as the women, the Pitt men also performed well at the Asics Invitational, capturing four event titles. Like the women, the underclassmen and upperclassmen took turns sharing the spotlight, the seniors leading the way on the track and the underclassmen dominating the field events.

Seniors Andy Tomaswick and Tim Konoval got the men off to a fast start by setting personal records and winning the 1,500- and 800-meter races, respectively. Tomaswick set his personal-best time of 3:57.33, while Konoval recorded his personal-best time of 1:52.67.

“Tim ran a very good race,” Webb said. “To run as fast as he did in his first race of the season is impressive.”

Another senior, Mike Long, demonstrated why he is the current Pitt record holder in the 3,000-meter steeplechase by winning that event with a time of 9:29.55.

The men’s last first-place champion was sophomore Eric Jones who won the triple jump with a distance of 13.83 meters. Jones also placed fourth in the long jump at 6.41 meters.

Also competing well in the field events were senior A.J. Kielinski, who took third in both the hammer throw and discus, and sophomore Matt Raquet, who finished second in the javelin with a throw of 54.07 meters.

Next weekend approximately 20 of the top Panther track athletes will fly to Austin, Texas, to take part in the Texas Relays. The Relays will showcase the nation’s top track and field talent. Those Pitt athletes not making the trip will have the week off.