CINCINNATI, Ohio - Seeing their first action of the 2015 outdoor track and field season, the IUP men's and women's teams placed in the top 10 in the Oliver Nikloff Invitational Saturday in Cincinnati.
At the end of the day, the men's team was sitting in sixth place with 39 points. Buffalo took the first-place finish with a total 209 points followed by Cincinnati in second. On the women's end, the Crimson Hawks held ninth place with 37 points, with Cincinnati finishing first with 183.5.
In the 3000 Steeplechase,
Tim Lynch (Harleysville, Pa. /Souderton) finished in just 9:45.31, earning sixth place and three points for the Crimson Hawks. Eight runners participated in the 400 relay, together posting six more points for IUP. The team of Jeremy Claypool,
Judah Klein (Philadelphia, Pa. /Cheltenham),
Troy Zangaro (Pittsburgh, Pa. /North Hills) and
Eean Smith (Apollo, Pa. /Apollo-Ridge) finished fifth with a time of 43.77.
Ricky Fayad (Hookstown, Pa. /South Side),
Demetrius Timmons (Upper Darby, Pa./Upper Darby), Charles Watson-Adams and
Trey North (Westfield, N.Y./Westfield Central) came in at seventh in 46.17.
Fayad placed again in the 110 hurdles coming in at sixth in 16:54, and Zangaro finishing the 400 dash in 49.90, a fifth place time.
In the long jump, four Crimson Hawks finished in the top 10 including Timmons, Wilson-Adams, Claypoole and North. Timmons earned fourth place after hitting a 6.55 m mark. Wilson-Adams and Claypool finished sixth and seventh, with North coming in at ninth. Wilson-Adams placed high again in the high jump, finishing second with a 1.98 mark, earning eight points for IUP. Placing again in the field was Claypool with a 13.72 m fourth-place mark in the triple jump.
On the women's end, eight runners also earned top 10 places for the Crimson Hawks in the 400 relay.
Carly Petney (Gallitzin, Pa./Penn Cambria),
Emily Dubler (Johnsonburg, Pa. /Johnsonburg),
Becky Wilson (Indiana, Pa. /Indiana) and
Kiah Walton (Burlington, N.J./Burlington) finished in 50.37, earning third place, with
Kaitlyn Gilbert (Willow Street, Pa. /Lampeter-Strasburg),
Catelyn Hittie (Berlin, Pa. /Berlin Brothersvalley),
Brooke Smay (Mineral Point, Pa. /Forest Hills) and
Heather Sternby (Meadville, Pa./Meadville) coming in at seventh with a time of 51.97.
Earning another high placement for the Crimson Hawks on the track was Hittie in the 100 hurdles. With a time of 15.89, she finished in sixth. Also finishing sixth was Petney in the 100 dash with a time of 12.64. Finishing the women's competitions on the track,
Jada Wilson (King of Prussia, Pa./Upper Merion) came in fourth with a 1:06.60 400 hurdles time.
In the field, five Crimson Hawks placed across the board in four different events. In the triple jump,
Kristen Knass (Butler, Pa./Butler) hit an 11.12 m mark earning third place, followed closely by Smay in fourth with a 10.92 m mark.
Kathryn Semuskie (Damascus, Md. /Damascus) earned fifth in the high jump at 1.48 m, and Walton grabbed eighth in the long jump after hitting a 5.17 m mark.
Elizabeth Coppella (Bradford, Pa. /Bradford) came in sixth in the pole vault with 3.05 m.
The Crimson Hawks will return to action Saturday, April 4, in Millersville, Pa., where they will compete in the Millersville Metrics.
For up-to-date game information, visit www.IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk.
