Melanie Carter is all alone.

Being Pitt’s only NCAA automatic qualifier in track thus… Melanie Carter is all alone.

Being Pitt’s only NCAA automatic qualifier in track thus far, she is now the only conference champion for the Panthers.

Heading into the Big East indoor track and field championships, Pitt triple jumper Carter was a No. 1 seed in her event, but to win, she had to display great mental toughness.

With a leap of 13.04 meters, Carter outdistanced her competition while continuing to exhibit her strong competitive nature.

“Melanie is a super competitor and you can feel her energy,” head coach Alonzo Webb said. “It’s a game to her. She dares people to out-jump her so she can rise to the challenge of beating them.”

Carter not only took first in the triple jump, but she also grabbed fifth place in the long jump with a jump of 6.11 meters.

Displaying similar intensity as Carter, teammate Amanda Walker turned in two personal best performances that resulted in a third place finish in the shot put and a fourth place finish in the weight throw.

“The intensity of Carter and Walker really stands out on our team,” Webb said.

Walker, a sophomore who “is still learning her events” according to Webb, was only two centimeters out of second place in the weight throw.

Freshman pole vaulter Marissa Dudek vaulted to a third place finish, clearing the 3.65-meter bar. Trenace Elliot also earned a third place finish when she dashed to a time of 55.48 seconds.

Tamara McGill had a very busy weekend as she competed in three events. In the pentathlon, McGill was leading the five event competition through four events. However, because of a subpar performance in the 800-meter race, McGill slipped to third place. McGill’s 3,653 points was by far a personal best in the pentathlon.

McGill did turn in strong performances despite her slip up, as she defeated one of the top hurdlers and long jumpers in the Big East. In the 60-meter hurdles, McGill registered a personal best that earned her a spot in the finals.

As a team, the women placed fourth which improved upon last year’s seventh place finish.

“Heading into this meet we weren’t really sure what to expect in terms of competition,” Webb said. “Our kids were focused and performed well for the most part.”

Troy Roberson led the men’s team to a 13th place finish with 21 points as he grabbed second place in the 400-meter event in a clocking of 48.05 seconds.

“Troy really showed us what it’s all about as he turned in a textbook performance in the 400,” Webb said. “He’s the type that just wants you to tell him what he needs to do so he can do it.”

Roberson teamed up with Deon Bascom, Chris Anderson and Jeryl Wilborn in the 4 x 400-meter relay to earn fourth place.

Shawndel Daniel jumped to fifth place in the long jump when he registered a distance of 7.10 meters. Mike Stellefson turned in a personal best performance in the shot put with a toss of 16.58 meters as he grabbed fifth place.

The weekend also featured six Pitt athletes being recognized as All-Big East performers. Carter, Walker, Dudek, McGill, Elliot and Roberson earned the All-Big East accolades based on their top three finishes in their events.

The Panthers will travel to Virginia Tech this weekend for a last-chance meet to qualify more athletes for the NCAA indoor track and field championships.