YOUNGSTOWN, OH. - The IUP men's and women's track and field teams enjoyed a successful start to their indoor season this afternoon at the Youngstown State University Icebreaker Meet.

Race Notes
>> >> The Crimson Hawks competed against a strong field of opponents on Friday which included teams from Division I, II, and III schools, including the University of Pittsburgh, host Youngstown State, and PSAC rivals Slippery Rock and California University of Pennsylvania amongst other.
>> The Crimson Hawks had 8 athletes earn top three finishes at the meet.
>> In total 15 members of the team hit PSAC qualifying marks at the meet, while a further 3 NCAA provisional marks were earned by IUP athletes in their events.

Top Performers
>> Freshman Jeremiah Parsons finished 16^th overall in the men's 400 meter dash on Friday. Parsons was competing in his first race as a Crimson Hawk, and was the second fastest Division II runner in the field of 38.
>> Sophomore Eric Westray came in 20^th overall in the men's 200 meter finals with a time of 23.06 seconds. Westray finished as the fifth fastest Division II participant in the race.
>> Fellow sophomore Ethan Riley also earned a top finish in Youngstown. Riley came in 14^th overall in the men's long jumo with a distance of 6.63 meters. Not only did Riley finish in the top 20 overall, but he also had the second best jump out of any Division II participant in the event.
>> Leading the way for the IUP women's track and field team was senior Nickeela Austin, who finished third overall in the women's triple jump with a distance of 11.79 meters. Austin's distance was only bettered by two Division II opponents. Austin also finished third overall in the women's long jump to round out a successful day for her at the meet.
>> Also representing the IUP women's track and field team was freshman sprinter Taylor Nissly who came in 13^th overall, and 4th out of Division II runners in the women's 200 meter dash finals.
>> Austin wasn't the only member of the women's team to come in the top ten at the meet, as freshman jumper Kayla Gillen finished 7^th overall in the women's high jump.
>> On the men's side of things, the men's high jump would prove to be the most productive event at the meet for the Crimson Hawks. All four of IUP's jumpers finished in the top 10 of the event, lead by Christian Jones' third place finish. Freshmen Thomas Jayden, Juan Mato-Segura, and Elie Basenga all tied for sixth place with their best jumps.
 
PSAC and NCAA Qualifiers
>> Competing in her first race for the Crimson Hawks, freshman Taylor Nissly finished 22^nd overall in the women's 400 meter dash finals with a time of 59.38 seconds. Nissly was racing against a field of comprised of athletes from all three NCAA divisions, and earned a PSAC qualifying mark with her time.
>> Nissly also hit a PSAC qualifying mark in the 200 meter dash finals with her time of 25.50 seconds.
>> Fellow freshman Jeremiah Parsons also earned a PSAC qualifying mark in the men's edition of the 400 meter dash. Parsons finished the race with a time of 51.11 seconds to come in first for IUP, and second out of all Division II runners in the race.
>> Teammate Andre Carr also hit a conference qualifying mark in the race with his time of 51.66 seconds.
>> In the men's 200 meter dash finals Eric Westray earned a PSAC qualifying mark thanks to his time of 23.06 seconds.
>> The Crimson Hawks had two members of the men's team earn PSAC marks in the 60 meter dash, as Noah Shannon-Hatchett's time of 7.10 seconds was the best on the day in the event for IUP. Eric Westray also earned a qualifying mark in the preliminaries of the race with his time of 7.22 seconds.
>> Nickeela Austin had an outstanding outing on Friday for the women's track and field team, as her distance of 11.79 meters in the triple jump not only earned her a PSAC qualifying mark, but also was good for a NCAA provisional qualifying nod as well. Austin would pick up her second PSAC mark, and NCAA mark of the day in the long jump. Austin's distance of 5.76 meters in the event not only earned her those conference and national marks, but was just shy of her person record in the event of 5.77 meters.
>> Rachel Horrell also earned a PSAC qualifying mark in the triple for the Crimson Hawks, as she came in 11^th at the meet with a distance of 10.93 meters.
>> The IUP men's track and field team also enjoyed a great deal of success in Friday's jumping events. Freshman Moreyelle Fernandez finished 7^th overall in the men's triple jump with a distance of 13.28 meters to earn a PSAC qualifying mark in his first competition for the Crimson Hawks. While Ethan Riley's distance of 6.63 meters in the long jump helped him to hit a PSAC qualifying mark in that event.
>> In addition to her top ten finish Kayla Gillen also earned a PSAC mark in the women's high jump with her height of 1.61 meters.
>> All four members of the IUP men's high jump squad earned PSAC marks on Friday. Thomas Jayden, Juan Mato-Segura, and Elie Basenga all cleared 1.90 meters to earn the conference qualifying mark, while senior Christian Jones not only earned PSAC mark, but also hit an NCAA provisional qualifying height after clearing 2.04 meters.
>> In the men's pole vault, sophomore Jeremy Adamson earned 10^th place overall with his height of 3.90 meters, good for a PSAC mark in that event.

Up Next
>> The Crimson Hawks will return to action following the winter break at the Al Hall Freedom Games hosted by Edinboro University. The meet is scheduled to take place on Saturday, January 25^th.

Follow
For up-to-date game information, visit www.IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP track and field on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk and @IUPtrack_XC.