Although the Pitt and Penn State football teams haven’t played since Steelers practice squad… Although the Pitt and Penn State football teams haven’t played since Steelers practice squad quarterback Rod Rutherford wore his Pitt jersey as a wide receiver, the Pitt men’s and women’s track teams fulfilled their duties of continuing the interstate rivalry over the weekend.

The teams traveled to University Park, Pa., with a collection of other Division I universities to compete in the Sykes-Sabock Challenge Cup, hosted by the Nittany Lions last Friday and Saturday. A handful of Panthers recorded top-10 finishes for the men in the squad’s overall 11th-place finish, and the women had an impressive 13 such finishes, as they took fifth place overall.

The men tallied a total of 21 points when all was said and done, and top performers for the Panthers were both old and new.

Pitt junior Justin Clickett, a 2005 All-American in shot put, placed second in that event with a season-best mark of 18.26 meters, falling just short of Kent State’s Brent Shelby’s first-place distance of 18.47 meters.

Clickett’s performance in the event was good enough to make him an NCAA provisional qualifier.

Clickett didn’t stop there, however. He also set a season-high mark for himself in the 35-pound weight throw event, finishing with a mark of 17.25 meters. East Carolina’s Eric Frasure won the event with a best of 20.55 meters.

But Clickett wasn’t the only Panther putting up good numbers over the weekend.

Sophomore Keith Higham scored high in the pole vault event with a vault of 5.22 meters, placing him third in the competition. This marks Higham’s third NCAA provisional qualifying performance of the year, which includes his school-record vault of 5.47 meters earlier during the season.

Sophomore Mike Wray also finished high for the Panthers, coming in third with a time of 8.03 in the 60-meter hurdles. Although Michigan’s Jeff Porter won the event, Wray currently holds the Big East Conference’s best time with a 7.99.

Junior Andy Tomaswick also ran well for Pitt, recording a personal-best time of 4:16.86 in the mile run, good for an eighth-place finish. Michigan’s freshman pair of Victor Gras and Lex Williams finished one-two in the event.

The women had a very good showing over the weekend, recording 57.50 points to finish fifth overall in the competition, edging other Big East rivals West Virginia, Villanova and Georgetown.

Setting the bar for the Panthers – or, rather, clearing it – was Marissa Dudek. The senior out of Pottstown, Pa., took first in the pole vault with a mark of 3.95 meters. This marks an impressive second pole vault title this season for Dudek, an NCAA qualifier. She also currently holds Pitt’s indoor pole vault record at 4.02 meters.

“I was happy with my performance,” Dudek said. “I hadn’t been doing as well as I would’ve liked to the past two meets. I finally got it together and tied for first and also tied my best jump of this season.”

“Even though I would’ve liked to jump higher, all in all, it was a pretty good meet.”

It was a pretty good meet for the ladies as a whole, seeing that Dudek wasn’t Pitt’s only first-place performer on the day.

In her 2006 debut, Maureen McCandless finished first in the mile run even with a time of 4:48.13. She, too, holds a Panther indoor record in the mile with a time of 4:44.0.

Pitt’s Martina Hallman also did her part to propel the Panthers, placing third in both the long jump and triple jump events with marks of 5.82 meters and 11.72 meters, respectively.

The Panthers also garnered valuable points from sophomore Shantea Calhoun. Calhoun recorded a personal-best time of 7.46 in the 60-meter run event while finishing second.

Both the men and women prepare to travel to Akron, Ohio, this weekend to compete in the Big East Indoor Championships, familiar ground for some Panthers.

“Although I have won the Big East in the past, each year is a new year,” Dudek said. “I’ve gained lots of experience from winning each year and I’ve learned that you can’t think about the past because you never know what will happen, so just always be ready to compete.”