March 28, 2009

Penguins Have Strong Showing in Outdoor Opener at Raleigh Relays

    Raleigh, N.C. -- Following a four-week layoff from competition, junior Lauren Blase, sophomore Danielle Curry, and senior Antonio Quarterman highlighted a solid performance by the Penguins at the Raleigh Relays over the weekend.
   Blase finished in fourth in the 5,000m with a time of 17:30.26, which is a personal-best time and ranks second in school history. Blase topped her previous best outdoor time by over a minute and 23 seconds.

    Curry competed in the shot put and claimed a 10th place finish with a distance of 13.60m. The mark was good for third best in the school record book.

    Quarterman had a 10th place jump of 13.58m in the triple jump, good for fourth place in school history.

    Several other Penguins also had strong performances at the meet 

    For the men, freshman Kiplangat Tisia's time of 14:52.34 ranks fifth all-time in school history.  Aaron Merrill had a sixth place throw if 16.54m in the shot put and added a personal-best throw of 46.89m in the discus to finish in 11th. Senior Aaron Merrill threw a distance of 55.92m to finish sixth in the hammer throw.

    On the women's side, sophomore Kayla Witmer's 10th place time of 37:43.82 in the 10,000m was good for sixth place all-time.  Junior Alexis Hall also added a ninth place finish in the hammer throw with a distance of 47.10m.

    As a team, both squads finished in 10th in the 1,600m Sprint Medley. The men ran a time of 3:30.21, while the women finished with a time of 4:10.16.
    The Penguins will compete at the Detroit Titan Classic on Friday in Detroit, Mich.