Underclassmen pick up high finishes for Pitt

Senior Nicole Vann and freshman Justin Clickett led the Panthers as they steamrolled over… Senior Nicole Vann and freshman Justin Clickett led the Panthers as they steamrolled over the competition, en route to six event titles and 24 top-five finishes in the State Farm Games, in Morgantown, W.Va., this past weekend.

Clickett set a personal record with a throw of 16.54 meters in the shot put and won the event by a full two meters over freshman teammate Eduardo Ruiz, who had a throw of 14.54 meters. Clickett also placed second in the 20-pound weight throw, with a toss of 15.06 meters.

“I’m really happy with the way his training has come along,” said Alonzo Webb, the head coach of the men’s and women’s indoor track team. “Justin is such a competitor … [and] really put on a show this weekend.”

Matt Brousse and Clinton Kotuby also had great meets for the Panthers.

Brousse broke the school record in the pole vault, with a height of 5.00 meters, finishing in front of sophomore teammate Jared Leese. Kotuby won the 3,000-meter run with a time of 8:54:26.

“Matt has been struggling of late, but has been working really hard to fix some minor problems,” Webb said. “He is a special kid, and it was great to see him perform well this weekend.”

Chris Anderson, a sophomore, also had a solid meet. He placed second in the 200-meter dash with a time of 22.26 seconds and finished third in the 60-meter dash with a time of 7.03 seconds.

“Chris is going to be special; he is going to be one of the top runners in the country when he is done,” said Webb. “This best thing about Chris is he keeps getting better.”

Senior Ryan Smith placed fourth in the 200-meter dash with a time of 22.95 seconds and rounded out the top five in the 400-meter dash with a time of 51.75 seconds.

The women’s team was lead by Nicole Vann, who won the long jump with a distance of 5.65 meters and placed fourth in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.17.

“Nicole is trying out a new event and had her best jump of the year,” said Webb. “She is really motivated right now, and it is coming at the perfect time.”

The Panthers got huge contributions from star freshmen Fatmata Fofonah and Krystal Epps. Fatmata placed first in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 7.94, and Epps won the 800-meter run with a time of 2:15:96.

“Fatmata had the third fastest time in conference and is getting into top form just in time for her Big East run,” said Webb. “Krystal is so talented and one of the best athletes on the team, but she still has a lot to learn.”

Freshman Kim Rorabaugh placed third in the 20-pound weight throw, with a throw of 14.41 meters. Rorabaugh also finished fourth in the shot put, with a toss of 12.33 meters.

Webb went into the State Farm Games hoping to let his younger athletes get some valuable experience, and the underclassmen placed first in two different events and finished in the top five 10 times.

“They did a tremendous job, and we are going to count on them in the Big East Indoor Championships,” said Webb

The Panthers return to action next weekend at the Penn State Challenge Cup at State College, Pa.

“We are going into next week’s meet doing what is best for our program, and [we will] prepare [our team] for the Big East tournament,” said Webb.