Women’s track runs on, captures yet another title

Sometimes, it’s almost too easy for the Pitt women’s track team.

For the second week in a… Sometimes, it’s almost too easy for the Pitt women’s track team.

For the second week in a row, the Panthers ran past the competition to defend one of their championship titles.

After winning its second consecutive Big East Championship two weeks ago, Pitt walked away from Princeton, N.J., this past weekend with its fourth consecutive Eastern College Athletic Conference Outdoor title.

The Panthers won four separate event titles en route to tallying 87 total points, good for the top spot over second-place Virginia with 68.

Another trend the Panthers are keeping steady with is setting school records and familiar names keep doing so. Senior Marissa Dudek again tied her school record of 4.00 meters in the pole vault, marking the third time she’s done so all year, most recently at the Big East Championships two weeks ago.

The other record-setting household name is sophomore Shantea Calhoun, who broke the 12-year-old record in the 100-meter event with a time of 11.54 seconds in the preliminary run.

Calhoun narrowly nipped Zenia Ayrton’s record of 11.54 seconds. She also finished second in the event’s final, running an 11.64, while her sister Shanea grabbed the third position with a time of 11.88.

But the Calhouns weren’t done after the 100 meters. The sister act also finished second and third in the 200-meter event, with Shantea claiming the No. 2 spot with a time of 23.42, and Shanea No. 3 with a 23.80.

The twins also claimed a first-place finish along with freshmen Janessa Murphy and Racquel Bender in the 400-meter relay. The Big East Championship team took the crown with a time of 46.06.

However, the biggest performer of the weekend was sophomore Julianna Reed. The Hampton, Pa., native owned the hurdles, winning both the 100- and 400-meter events, running times of 13.91 seconds and 57.99, respectively.

Sophomore Selenna Stapleton also ran her personal best in the 400 hurdles with a time of 1:01.73. Bender also set numerous personal bests at the event with times of 11.99 in the 100-meter sprint and 24.33 in the 200.

Aside from Dudek, the Panthers got several other top-five performances in the field. Sophomore Nicole Pitchford finished fourth in the pole vault with a mark of 3.80 meters, while fellow sophomore Angela Hoover finished fourth as well with a 44.60-meter throw in the javelin. Murphy also claimed a fourth position, jumping a personal-best 6.10 meters in the long jump.

Head Coach Alonzo Webb and the Panthers continue to uphold their reputation as one of the region’s top programs in the past couple of years. Webb and the rest of the Pitt coaching staff was recently recognized as the Big East Coaching Staff of the Year.

This past weekend’s victory extends Pitt’s ECAC winning streak to four years to complement their two straight conference championships.

Webb could not be reached for comment.

The Panthers now have a two-week hiatus before the NCAA East Regional Championships hosted by North Carolina State in Greensboro, N.C., in which they can qualify for the NCAA National Championships in June.