UNIVERSITY PARK, PA./YOUNGSTOWN, OH. – The IUP men's and women's track and field teams got their weekend of competition off to a solid start up this afternoon at the Penn State National Open and the YSU National Mid-Major Invitational. The Crimson Hawks had several impressive performances at the two meets to set the stage for what should be an exciting day of action tomorrow when the compeititons resume.
Race Notes
>> The Crimson Hawks sent two members of their team to Penn State to compete against a stacked field that featured some of the top track and field athletes in Division I and II. Sophomore sprinter
Dre Carr represented the IUP men's track and field team at the meet, while
Nickeela Austin carried the torch for the IUP women's track and field team in the triple jump on Friday.
>> The Crimson Hawks also sent a larger contingent of 42 athletes to compete against equally stiff opponents in Youngstown.
>> The YSU Mid-Major field was comprised of athletes from 33 different schools across all three NCAA divisions.
>> The Crimson Hawks had three athletes earn top 15 finishes at the two meets.
>> In total the Crimson Hawks managed to earn up 4 PSAC qualifying marks on the first day of at the two meets, while one NCAA automatic qualifying spot was also earned by IUP on Friday.
Top Performers PSU Open
>> Both Carr and Austin enjoyed impressive results on Friday at Penn State.
>> Carr advanced to the finals of the men's 60 meter dash, where he would finish 6th overall. Carr's performance was the fastest out of any Division II men's competitor in the race.
>> Austin finished 11
th overall in the women's triple jump with a best distance of 11.61 meters. She also ended the meet with the best jump of any Division II athlete in the women's triple jump.
Top Performers YSU Mid-Major
>> The majority of the Crimson Hawks who were in action on Friday took part in the distance events.
>> The IUP women's track and field team had five members of the team taking part in the women's 5,000 meters at the invitational.
>> Both
Brianna Herr and
Tricia Varner finished in the top 30 of the race, while all five Crimson Hawks in the race finished within three minutes of each other. Herr finished first for IUP and 24
th overall with a time of 19:41.53. Varner finished second for IUP and 29
th overall with a time 20:08.8.
>> The IUP men's track and field also had two members of their team take part in their edition of the 5,000 meters.
>>
Sam Lenze came in first for IUP and 19
th overall, while
Isaac Evans finished second for IUP and 36
th overall with a time of 16:52.30.
>> Also competing for the IUP men's track and field team on Friday was long jumper
Ethan Riley. Riley came in 9
th overall at the meet.
PSAC and NCAA Qualifiers
>> In addition to finishing first for IUP in the men's 5,000 meters,
Sam Lenze also earned a PSAC qualifying mark in the event with his time of 15:48.51.
>> Not only did Carr secure an impressive individual result in his race at the Penn State National Open, but he also earned both PSAC and NCAA provisional marks with his time of 6.79 seconds in the final. That mark is the second fastest time in IUP men's indoor track and field history in the 60-meter dash.
>>
Nickeela Austin also earned a PSAC qualifying mark on Friday thanks to her distance of 11.61 meters in the triple jump.
>> Thanks to his distance of 6.69 meters in the long jump, sophomore
Ethan Riley earned a PSAC qualifying mark at Youngstown State.
Up Next
>> The Crimson Hawks will be back in action tomorrow for day two of the YSU National Mid-Major Invitational. The field events will begin at 9:00 am tomorrow, while the track events will get underway at 10:00 am.
Follow
For up-to-date game information, visit www.IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP track and field on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk and @IUPtrack_XC.
