Behrend Track & Field Begin
Outdoor Competition Over Spring Break
The Penn State Behrend track and field squad traveled to Florida and
Myrtle Beach over spring break to train and compete for the upcoming
2008 outdoor season. After a few days of training in Florida,
the team traveled to Coastal Carolina to compete in their annual
invitational. The blue and white had a number of key
performances while breaking a few records along the way.
On the women’s side, freshman Amanda Wehrle (Rossiter/Punxsutawney) set a new record for the 400m dash with a time of 1:00.95. "Wehrle ran her best 400m race of her young college career," said second-year head coach Greg Cooper. "I was impressed with the aggressiveness she showed in the race, and I look for her to qualify for ECAC's in an individual event soon."
Other
top performers for the Behrend women included Kylie Swanson
(Hermitage/Hickory), Virginia
Rodgers-Owens (Washington, DC/P.L. Dunbar), and Dana Turley (Sarver/Freeport).
Swanson was able to break the women's pole vaulting record, hitting 9'0.25''
during the invitational. Rodgers-Owens had top performances for the blue and
white in the 100m and 200m dashes, crossing the line in 12.68 in the 100m
and 26.78 in the 200m. Turley had a strong performance in the 400m
hurdles with a time of 1:09.11.
For the men Kevin Gorny (Erie/McDowell) had a superb performance to open up the 2008 outdoor season. "Kevin started off the season better than he ended last year," stated coach Cooper. "He ran really well in the steeplechase, qualifying for ECAC's and breaking his own school record." Gorny was able to set the new record at 9:44.56.
Mike Ferraro (Erie/Harborcreek) and Doug Stevenson (Sharpsville/Sharpsville) also had top performances for the blue and white. Ferraro and Stevenson tied for the record in the 100m dash with a time of 11.10 seconds. Ferraro also had a good showing in the 200m, finishing with a time of 22.80. Freshman Bryson Hartzler (Belleville/Indian Valley) stepped up to set a new record in the high jump. He was able to jump six feet, four and 3/4 inches to finish sixth overall in the competition and set the new Behrend record. Returner Andy Iams (Harrison City/Penn Trafford) had a terrific showing in the 5000m run after missing all of the indoor season due to injury. He finished the event with a time of 16:15.47.
The Penn State Behrend track and field team will compete again on Friday, March 28 in Wheeling, WV when they will participate in the Bill Van Horne Invitational at Wheeling Jesuit University. The squad will then travel to Mount Union on April 5 for more invitational competition.
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