KENT, OH. – The Crimson Hawks wrapped up their indoor track and field regular season on Saturday in Kent, Ohio at the Kent State Tune Up. With the 2020 PSAC Indoor Track and Field Championships on the horizon, the members of the IUP men's and women's track and field teams used the meet at Kent State University  to sharpen things up and get ready for the upcoming conference championships.
 
Race Notes
>> The Crimson Hawks sent 33 athletes between their two teams to compete on Saturday at Kent State University.
>> The Crimson Hawks found themselves facing off against competitors from schools in Division I, II, and III on Saturday.
>> The Crimson Hawks claimed four top ten finishes on Saturday, including one first place finish in the women's long jump.
>> Overall the Crimson Hawks secured 10 PSAC qualifying marks between the men's and women's teams on Saturday, to go along with 1 NCAA provisional qualifying mark.

Top Performers
>> Nickeela Austin had an outstanding day at Kent State. Austin beat out a number of PSAC and Division I rivals to claim first place in the women's long jump with a distance of 5.79 meters. Not only did she win the event, but Austin also set a new personal best distance in the long jump, topping her previous long of 5.77 meters set at last year's PSAC Indoor Track and Field Championships. 
>> Austin also claimed fourth place in the women's triple jump on Saturday. Fellow women's triple jumpers Stefanie Ketterman and Faith Hershberger claimed 14th and 16th respectively.
>> Senior Ala Small took advantage of Saturday's opportunity to put forward one of her best performances of the season in the women's 5,000 meters. Small came in 6^th overall in the race, and finished second among Division II runners.
>> In the men's 60 meter high hurdles, freshman Addison Singleton came in fourth among Division II runners in a stacked field, and eleventh overall.
>> Joining Singleton in earning a top ten finish in a men's sprint event was teammate Noah Shannon-Hatchett. Shannon-Hatchett finished ninth overall in the race and had the second fastest time of the Division II athletes competing in the race.
>> For the second week in a row, Sam Lenze earned a top ten finish for IUP. This week it was in the men's mile, where he came in seventh overall. Teammate Noah Mandel also placed well in the event, coming in fourteenth overall with a time of 4:30.21, a new best in the event for him.
>> Niasia Harding also had her best outing of the indoor season on Saturday for the women's track and field team. Harding finished sixth overall in the women's 400 meters with a time of 1:00.14.
>> The men's 400 meter race saw two members of the IUP team earn top 25 finishes. Eliezier Silvestre came in 19^th in the race with a time of 51.73 seconds, while Steven Reid finished 24^th with a time of 52.63 seconds.
>> Three members of the IUP men's track and field team claimed top ten spots in the men's high jump. Christian Jones finished first for IUP and fourth overall. Jones was followed by Elie Basenga in sixth place, and Jayden Thomas in eighth.

PSAC and NCAA Qualifiers
>> Nickeela Austin's performance in the women's long jump not only earned her a PSAC qualifying mark, but also was good for an NCAA provisional qualifying mark as well.
>> In addition to finishing first for IUP in the men's 60 meter high hurdles, Addison Singleton also earned a PSAC qualifying mark in the race with a time of 9.04 seconds.
>> Noah Shannon-Hatchett also earned a PSAC mark for the Crimson Hawks in the men's 60 meter dash. Shannon-Hatchett finished with a time of 7.12 seconds in the race to hit the conference qualifying standards.
>> Sam Lenze set a new personal best time in the mile on Saturday at the meet. Lenze finished the 1,600 meter race with a time of 4:25.43, setting a new personal best time in the race in the process.
>> With her time of 1:00.14 in the women's 400 meter race, senior Niasia Harding earned a qualifying mark for next weekend's PSAC Championships.
>> Austin went two-for-two in her jumping events on Saturday. Austin's distance of 11.61 meters in triple earned a PSAC qualifying mark in they event to go along with the one she earned in the long jump.
>> In the men's triple jump freshman Moreyelle Fernandez finished just outside of the top 10 in 11th place with a distance of 12.92 meters. That distance helped him to earn a conference qualifying mark.
>> The men's high jumpers closed out the regular season in style on Saturday. Three members of the team earned PSAC marks in the event with their jumps. Christian Jones had the best jump of the day for the Crimson Hawks by clearing 1.99 meters. Both Elie Basenga and Jayden Thomas managed to get over 1.94 meters to earn conference qualifying marks.
 
Up Next
>> The Crimson Hawks will head to Edinboro, Pa. next weekend to take part in the 2020 PSAC Indoor Track and Field Championships on February 29 – March 1^st.
 
Follow
For up-to-date game information, visit www.IUPAthletics.com and follow IUP track and field on Twitter @IUPCrimsonHawk and @IUPtrack_XC.  
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