May 9, 2009

Griffith Qualifies for USA Junior Outdoor Championships at Campbell-Wright Invite

    Akron, Ohio -- Youngstown State freshman Kaitlyn Griffith hit the qualifying mark for the USA Junior Outdoor Championships in the hammer throw on Friday at the Campbell/Wright Invitational.

    Griffith threw a personal-distance of 49.13m to meet the 48.0m qualifying mark. Griffith finished in eighth at the meet and her throw ranks third in school history.

    Griffith joins past Penguin qualifiers for the national meet in Aaron Merrill, Breanne Romeo, Katie Betts, Emily Schnitkey and Keith Gorby. The 2009 meet is set to take place at the University of Oregon's Hayward Field on June 25-28.

    Also at the meet, sophomore Danielle Curry shattered her own school record in the shot put with a distance of 14.22m. Junior Alexis Hall added a seventh place finish in the hammer throw with a distance of 49.49m.

    In track events, senior Emily Wollet finished first in the 400m with a time of 56.90. Wollet also added a personal-best time of 25.07 in the 200m dash to finish in sixth. The time also ranks ninth in school history.

    Fellow senior Kari Kreutzfeld finished third in the 100m dash with a time of 12.50 and fifth in the 200m dash with a time of 25.05. Sophomore Breanne Romeo finished in seventh in the 200m dash with a personal best time of 25.22, which ranks 10th all-time in YSU history.

     In men's track events, freshman Kiplangat Tisia had a first place time of 3:55.37 in the 1,500m run. The time was a personal-best and ranks fourth all-time. Tisia also added a seventh place finish in the 800m with a time of 1:58.60.

    Senior Mark Lipinsky finished third in the 110m hurdles with a time of 14.65, ranking second in school history. Senior JR Hodge's third place time of 10.72 in the 100m dash ranks fifth in school. history

    Michael Perri, another senior, finished in second place in the 400m hurdles with a time of 53.55. Sophomore Adam Kagarise finished the 400m in fourth with a time of 49.40.

    In field events, junior Aaron Merrill had a fifth place throw of 16.48m in the shot put. Sophomore John Pallini threw the shot put 15.61m and finished the event in seventh.

    The Penguins next stop will be in Atlanta when they take part in the Georgia Tech Invitational. The event will begin on Friday and wrap-up on Saturday.