Women’s track learns at Big East

Over the course of a long and grueling track and field season, “off-days” are sometimes… Over the course of a long and grueling track and field season, “off-days” are sometimes inevitable. The Panthers have been able to minimize such sub-par performances and as a result, have had a very successful season.

But one of those rare off-days occurred over the weekend at the Big East Indoor Championships in Akron, Ohio.

Because of the tremendous amount of talent on both sides of the roster, lofty personal and team goals were set. The Pitt women were hoping to defend their title as champions and the men had hoped to break the top five. Both teams came up short, however.

The Pitt women placed fourth at the championships, 76 points behind new champion Georgetown, who acquired 112 points.

“I would say I am mildly disappointed with the way the women performed,” head coach Alonzo Webb said. “A string of things went wrong early and we just didn’t perform up to our standards, which we set very high.”

The men’s team finished sixth overall with 56 points, behind champion Notre Dame, who collected 133.5 points.

“The men placed right about where I thought they would be,” Webb said. “Overall, they were outstanding.”

Despite the disappointment for the women’s squad, many individual athletes achieved some quality results. As usual, the Calhoun sisters, Shanea and Shantea, came up big for the Panther women, earning All-Big East honors with top times in sprints.

“They (Shanea and Shantea) are consistent and we know that we can always count on them, especially in the big meets,” Webb said.

Shantea finished second in the 60- and 200-meter events with a career-best time of 7.45 in the 60. Shanea Calhoun was right behind her sister in the 200, placing third with a time of 24.20.

The big winner, however, was sophomore Janessa Murphy, who claimed the long jump title. Martina Hallman earned all-conference honors for the second consecutive indoor season by finishing second. Murphy won with a personal-best jump of 6.12 meters. This NCAA provisional time earned the Pitt sophomore her first indoor league title. Murphy also set a personal-best distance of 12.09 meters in the triple jump, where she finished fifth.

“Last year as a freshman she came up big and placed second behind an All-American,” Webb explained. “Her winning jump was actually her first jump, and she also competed well in the triple jump. She did her job this weekend.”

In the 500 meters, Julianna Reed finished fifth with a time of 1:13.68 and freshman Kari Hedderick finished eighth at 1:14.73. Pitt had two finalists in the 800 meters as well with Selena Sappleton and Krystal Epps placing sixth and eighth, respectively. Junior Ali Briggs ran a personal-best time of 2:53.50 in the 1,000 meters for seventh place.

Pitt had two finalists in the 60-meter hurdles as well. Hallman placed sixth with a time of 8.78, and freshman Brianna Broyles took seventh at 8.89.

For the men, the top performer was no stranger. As he has done all season long, junior Mike Wray stole the show by winning his second consecutive 60-meter hurdles indoor title with a time of 7.86. The nation’s best hurdler, Wray has met the NCAA provisional time in every race he has run this season.

“He’s so talented that we just expected him to do that,” Webb said. “He’s been the No. 1 hurdler in the country, but was also impressive in the 60-meters finishing in second – an event he’s only run twice all season.”

Sam Perkins also ran the 60-meter event and finished with all-conference honors by placing third with a time of 6.89.

“He’s just doing an outstanding job for us and is becoming a person you can count on week in and week out,” Webb stated. “You know he’s going to give you 100 percent every time he competes.”

The men’s other all-conference performance was in the 3,200-meter relay. The team, which consisted of Sam Bair, Tim Konoval, Eric Fleming and Eric Burnett placed third with a season-best time of 7:36.65.

Yet, even their stellar performance was overshadowed by the Pitt distance-relay team. That group, which consisted of Konoval, Kareem Cousar, Fleming and Bair, ran a time of 9:39.03 for first place. In addition to capturing first place, the medley team broke a facility and school record with a time of 9:39.60. They continue to hold the third best time in the NCAA in this event.

“The men’s relay teams all ran very well, I was extremely pleased,” Webb said.

Bair also picked up All-Big East honors in the mile for the second consecutive season as he finished in second with a time of 4:04.90. In the weight throw, A.J. Kielinski placed sixth with a throw of 17.70 meters. Finally, Andy Tomaswick ran two personal-bests in the 5,000 and 3,000 meter events; good enough for seventh and 13th places.

With the exception of Wray, who will be competing in the exclusive U.S. National Championships, the Panthers will get a week off before turning their attention to the Intercollegiate Association of Amateur Athletes of America Championships the first weekend in March. Only those athletes who met the qualifying standards can compete in this contest. This year’s event, which will be held in Boston, marks the last opportunity for competitors to qualify for NCAAs.