Behrend Wins Conference Championship; Balaski Sets New United East/School Record
The Penn State Behrend women's track & field team won its first ever United East Outdoor Championship with 180 team points, outscoring nine other teams this weekend.
ERIE, Pa. - The Penn State Behrend women's track & field team won its first ever United East Outdoor Championship with 180 team points, outscoring nine other teams this weekend.
Noteworthy:
* Lindsey Hartle (Pittsburgh, PA/Avonworth) earned United East Women's Outdoor Co-Track Athlete of the Year with Chay'La Rivers from St. Mary's
* Head coach Greg Cooper was named the United East Women's Outdoor Track & Field Coach of the Year
Key Moments:
* Sophomore Julia Balaski (Mercer, PA/Mercer) set a new United East and school record in the javelin with a throw of 128-6, surpassing her own record of 125-0 that she recorded last season at Carnegie Mellon en route to United East Women's Javelin Champion. Fellow thrower Brianna Downing placed sixth in this event (92-11)
* Balaski also finished sixth in the high jump (4-4)
* Hartle was victorious in the 10000m with a time of 47:39.43. She also went on to be the runner-up in the 5000m (20:21.25) and placed fifth in 1500m (5:18.42)
* Freshman Rylee Long (Slippery Rock, PA/Moniteau) registered third place in the triple jump with a distance of 34-1 3/4
* In the 100m hurdles, Haley Felton (Midway, PA/Fort Cherry) was third with a time of 17.16
* Paige Massey (Erie, PA/McDowell) notched a fourth-place throw of 34-1 in the shot put
* Ivy Laffan (Waterford, PA/Fort LeBoeuf) crossed the finish line in 1:01.88 for fourth place in the 400m dash
* Madison Kappeler (Cecil, PA/Canon-McMillan) scored a pair of third-place finishes in the 200m dash and fourth-place finish in the 100m dash
* Behrend finished third and fourth in the 400m hurdles, thanks to Laffan and Bridget McMaster (Geneseo, NY/Geneseo Central)
* The 4x1 relay team of Laffan, Long, Kappeler, and Peyton Grimm (Sykesville, PA/DuBois Area) ran a time of 51.05 for third place, while the 4x4 relay team of Grimm, Kappeler, Laffan, Victoria Dietrich (Oakmont, PA/Riverview), Laffan were also bronze medalists with a time of 4:17.13
* The top three finishers in each event earned All-United East honors
Up Next:
* Behrend heads to Allegheny on Thursday, May 9