May 5, 2008
PITTSBURGH--The Pitt track and field teams competed this weekend at the Big East Outdoor Championships hosted by Villanova University. The women claimed a runner-up finish in the team competition with 87 points, edging out Notre Dame (86 points) and Connecticut (84 points). Louisville claimed the women's title with 106 points. The Pitt men claimed 10th with 45 total points.
The women's relay team of Shanea Calhoun (New Haven, Conn./Wilbur Cross), Da'Lynn Mills (Cranberry Twp., Pa./Seneca Valley), Raquel Bender (Penn Hills, Pa./Penn Hills) and Shantea Calhoun (New Haven, Conn./Wilbur Cross) claimed the 4x100-meter event crown with a time of 45.99.
Shantea also turned in a solid showing in the women's 100-meter dash event, as she took second-place with a time of 11.61, an improvement from her third-place time in the prelims of 11.80. She later joined sister Shanea in the finals of the 200-meter dash, where they finished second and third with times of 23.69 and 23.73.
Sophomore Brianna Broyles (Allentown, Pa./William Allen) turned some heads in the finals of the 400-meter hurdles with a regional qualifying mark of 58.86, which placed her second and locked down an All-Big East honor. Freshman Nicole Cherry (Utica, Pa./Franklin) also garnered some recognition from the conference after a third-place, regional-qualifying toss of 45.47 meters.
Long jumper Janessa Murphy (Malvern, Pa/Great Valley) also posted a regional-qualifying distance with a third-place effort of 6.05 meters. Teammate Martina Hallman (Miami, Fla./Miami Southridge) also found herself in the top-five of the event with a mark of 5.89 meters, which was good enough for fifth.
On the men's side, All-American Mike Wray (Philadelphia, Pa./Central) was the only competitor to break the 14-second mark in the prelims of the 110-meter hurdles. He went on to claim first in the finals with a time of 13.83. Fellow All-American Sam Bair (Pittsburgh, Pa./Shaler) also performed well, picking up an All-Big East honor for his third-place effort in the men's 1500-meter run. He clocked in at 3:54.79 in the finals.
In the javelin throw, junior Matt Raquet (Reading, Pa./Holy Name) came in third with a regional-qualifying toss of 62.38 meters, while pole vaulter Ron Walter (Pittsburgh, Pa/Baldwin) tied for second after clearing a height of 4.95 meters.
After taking a week off from competition, both teams will be back in action in Princeton, N.J., for the ECAC/IC4A Outdoor Championships from May 14-16.
For complete results from Villanova, please visit the following link:
Big East Championship Central
