CALIFORNIA Pa. – Four IUP track & field athletes won events with eight total hitting qualifying times as the Crimson Hawks opened their outdoor season in cold conditions at the Early Bird Invitational hosted by California (Pa.) Saturday.
COMPLETE RESULTS (PDF)
DJ Horton (Kane, Pa./Kane Area) set the bar high for his outdoor season, hitting an NCAA Division II automatic qualifying mark in the pole vault with a height of 5.19 meters. It was one of IUP's four victories and he was just 0.01 meters shy of tying his own school outdoor record.
Also winning for the men was
Christian Jones (Uniontown, Pa./Laurel Highlands) in the high jump, hitting a personal best 1.95 meters. It was a PSAC meet qualifying mark.
Daniel Jackson (Akron, Ohio/Archbishop Hoban) and
Ryan Louther (Indiana, Pa./Indiana) also hit conference qualifying marks for the men. Jackson finished third in the long jump with a leap of 6.51 meters and Louther was seventh in the 1500 meters with a time of 4:05.18.
On the women's side,
Sam Christman (Limerick, PA./Spring-Ford) won the 3000 meter steeplechase with a personal best time of 12:16.68. It was also a PSAC qualifying time.
Heather Sternby (Meadville, Pa./Meadville) also won, hitting a conference qualifying time in the 400 meters with a time of 57.57.
Jada Wilson (King of Prussia, Pa./Upper Merion) helped the Crimson Hawks go back-to-back in the event with a personal best time of 59.02.
Allyson Dryer (Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio/Woodridge) had IUP's last PSAC qualifying time, finishing eighth in the 5000 meters with a time of 18:36.37, a personal best.
Up next
The Crimson Hawks head to Cincinnati, Ohio next weekend for the two-day Oliver Nikoloff Open.
Follow
For up-to-date game information, visit www.IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP track & field on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk and @ IUPtrack_XC.
