Track and Field Opens Indoor Season at Slippery Rock With Success
The Penn State Behrend men's and women's track and field teams kicked off the indoor season on Saturday, January 21, at the Slippery Rock Invitational. Although no team points were kept there were several outstanding performances were recorded by Behrend athletes.
Isiah Meek (Wayne, NJ/Wayne Valley) qualified for the ECAC tournament in the 55-meter hurdles (7.96). Staci Banaszek (Erie/Harborcreek) also met ECAC qualifying requirement in the triple jump with a distance of 35'1".
Three Behrend men picked up first place finishes. Brad Ruffo (West Middlesex/West Middlesex) won the 5000-meters in a time of 16:33, Eric DiLuzio (Erie/Cathedral Prep) won the mile in a time of 4:12.01, and Jon McKinney (Summerville/Union) was victorious in the triple jump with a distance of 13.10-meters. Not far behind McKinney in the triple jump, in second place, was Behrend's Shane Rock (McKean/General McLane). Rock's distance was 13.06-meters. Diluzio's time in the mile also set a new Behrend record.
There were two additional Penn State Behrend records set on Saturday. Becky Gonzales (Morrisville/Piscataway) set a new mark in the 55-meter hurdles in a time of 9.45, and Leisl Soergel (Evans City/Butler) set a new 800-meter record with a time of 2:29.30.
Head coach Dave Cooper was happy with the performance of his team in the season-opener. "We opened on a positive note against Division I and II competition," said Cooper. "It was great to see records being broken and ECAC qualifying performances at this early point in the year."
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