April 24, 2009

Blase Excels on National Stage, Breaks School 5,000m Record

    Philadelphia, Pa. -- In what YSU head coach Brian Gorby described as "Penn Relays Magic," junior Lauren Blase ran a personal-best and school record time of 17:01.71 at the Penn Relays on Thursday.

    Blase, who beat her previous-best time by over 28 seconds, broke the school record by 12 seconds at the event. The time is also the best 5,000m time ever recorded in YSU history, counting both the indoor and outdoor circuit.

    "We've had a lot of talented state champions and national caliber 5,000m runners come through YSU in the past 20 years and for Lauren to break it by 12 seconds is impressive," said Gorby.

    Also at the relays, the tandem of seniors R.D. Goodright and J.D. Sheppard, sophomore Jake Lape and freshman Kiplangat Tisia shattered the school record in the 4x800m relay by running a time of 7:38.63 In front of 45,500 fans and a national ESPN TV audience.

    Tisia also lowered his regional qualifying time by three seconds in the 3,000m steeplechase by running a 9:02.56.

    Jake Lape and Michael Perri also ran a personal-best times at the meet. Lape ran a time of 9:35.12 in the 3,000m steeplechase, while Perri ran 54.18 in the 400m hurdles.

    The Penguins are off until Thursday, when they travel to Chicago to take part in the Horizon League Outdoor Championships. The women's squad will look to defend their outdoor title, while the men will look to overcome their second-place finish from a year ago.