PITTSBURGH, Pa. – The Penn State Behrend women's track and field team took second place out of four teams in their first scored meet of the outdoor season. They posted a score of 131 behind Carnegie Mellon (221) at the Carnegie Mellon Quad Meet Saturday.
Rachel Pell (Elizabeth, PA/Elizabeth Forward) punched her tickets to ECACs in both the 400m run and 400m hurdles, taking first-place in each of the events. In the 400m, she ran a time of 59.37, while finishing with a time of 1:06.16 in the 400m hurdles. Pell, along with Gabriella Loeffler (Pittsburgh, PA/Baldwin), Haley Yenchik (Cecil, PA/Canon McMillan), and Ashlyn Carlsson (Butler, PA/Knoch), also took second in the 4x400 relay with a time of 4:13.09.
Jenna Shelton (Cabot, PA/Knoch) qualified for the ECACs in the 1500m run with her winning time of 4:53.71. She also ran a third place time of 2:25.25 in the 800m run.
In the pole vault, Yenchik, Loeffler, and Brianna Keith (Erie, PA/McDowell) all jumped at ECAC qualifying heights. Yenchik led the way with a second place finish at a height of 3.51m, while Loeffler and Keith took fifth and 10th at 3.06m and 2.16m, respectively. Yenchik also took fourth in the 200m with a time of 27.34.
Becca Worley (Erie, PA/McDowell) and Courtney Sargent (Erie, PA/Collegiate Academy) earned trips to the ECACs in the 300m steeplechase event. She finished with a time of 12:37.94 for second place, while Sargent crossed the line in third at a time of 12:49.64.
Myeisha Sanders (Erie, PA/Collegiate Academy) was the last Lion to qualify for the ECACs. She qualified in the discus event with a fourth place finish at a distance of 35.16m. Sanders also competed in the shot put and hammer throw, throwing distances of 9.30m and 30.62 respectively, tabbing fifth in each event.
Behrend's 'A' squad, Yenchik, Loeffler, Carlsson, and Pell won the 4x100 relay with a time of 50:20.
Yenchik also took fourth in the 100m and 200m run with times of 13:02 and 27:34 respectively. Carlsson placed just behind her in fifth with a time of 13:14, but earned second place in the 200m with a time of 27.10. Carlsson took third in the 400m, running a time of 1:02.68.
Also in the 1500m, Savanna Carr (Franklin, PA/Franklin Area) ran a second-place time of 4:48.37 while Riley Crissman (Bradford, PA/Bradford Area) crossed the finish line at 5:03.20 for fifth place. Crissman finished in fifth place in the 3000m run with a time of 11:03.37.
The Lions return to action track at Mount Union next Friday and Saturday for a two-day meet. Events start at 3 p.m. on Friday and 10 a.m. Saturday.