April 19, 2009

Penguins Shine as Curry and Copley Set School Records at Sparky Adams

    Berea, Ohio -- It was an all-around good day for the YSU men's and women's track team, but for sophomores Danielle Curry and Johnny Copley it was a great day as both broke school-records at the Sparky Adams Invitational on Saturday.

    Curry won shot put with a distance of 14.17m and also added a third-place finish in the hammer throw and a fourth-place finish the discus. Copley was victorious in the pole vault by clearing a mark of 4.75m.

    Along with Curry's and Copley's first-place finishes, both the men's and  women's squad each claimed seven additional first-place finishes at the meet.

    In track events for the women, sophomore Alisha Anthony won the 100m dash with a time of 12.55. Fellow sophomore Breanne Romeo took first in the 400m with a time of 55.70. Lauren Blase, a junior, ran a first-place time of 4:46,25 in the 1,500m, that ranks fourth all-time in YSU history. Senior Yandeh Joh was victorious in the 100m hurdles with a time of 14.90.

    The combination of Romeo, Anthony and seniors Katie Betts and Kari Kreutzfeld won the 4x100m title with a time of 47.55.

    On the field side, junior Stephanie Jarvis won the pole-vault by clearing 3.20m. Junior Alexis Hall took the top spot in the hammer throw with a distance of 51.50m. Hall's distance is a personal-best and ranks second in school history.

    For the men, senior J.R. Hodge claimed the 100m crown with a time of 11.09. Senior J.D. Sheppard was victorious in the 800m with a time of 1:55.07. Kiplangat Tisia, a freshman, took the top-spot in the 5,000m with a time of 15:00.77. Senior Michael Perri ran a personal-best time of 53.26 to win the 400m hurdles.

    In field events, sophomore Jerrill Hall cleared a height of 1.97m to win the high jump. Junior Aaron Merrill won the shot put with a throw of 17.48m. Senior Joe Lahmon claimed first in the hammer throw with a distance of 57.29m.

    The squads will have a busy week next week as on Thursday the team will travel to Philadelphia to take part in the Penn Relays that will run through Saturday. Saturday also marks the start of the St. Francis Red Flash Open in Loretto, Pa., where the Penguins are slated to compete.