Trackwomen excel in two locations

Different cities. Different meets. Same results.

Penn State sent two different teams to two different meets this weekend, but athletes from both squads turned in season and personal bests.

On Friday and Saturday at Butler, Penn State senior Erica Bosler set a lifetime best in the 800-meter. Senior Shakeema Walker also turned in one of her best performances in the triple jump.

"They really had a good meet and they are getting a lot closer to qualifying (for NCAAs)," coach Teri Jordan said.

The results were better at Cornell, but the competition was not. As expected, the Lady Lions dominated the rest of the field. With little pressure, many of the athletes went out and set season and personal bests.

The Lions had a clean sweep in the 55-meter dash. Sophomore Tiffany Glen took home first place with a time of 7.17 seconds. Freshman Olutoyin Augustus (7.21) took second place and senior Donna Comrie (7.211) took a close third.

In the 55-meter hurdles, Augustus finished first in 8.12 with junior Sheraie Darby (8.33) finishing second.

Sophomore Nicole Paul won the 200-meter in 25.56. Darby finished just .03 behind Paul.

"I ran pretty well, but the times were not what I was looking for," Darby said. "The race did give me a little more confidence with the Big Tens coming up."

Even with Walker at Butler, the jumpers turned in another good performance. Sophomore Kristin Zimmerman came from behind to win the long jump with a final leap of 18-11. Augustus capped off a great meet with a second-place finish in the triple jump with a leap of 40-5. Senior Carleen Martin finished second (5-6) in the high jump after finishing sixth in the pentathlon.

Senior Kim Hicks won the shot put with a throw of 44-9 ½ with junior Mary Jo Faust finishing in third (41-7 ¾).

Senior Allison Glitz won the 3000-meter in 10:13.54 and freshman Melinda Brown set a personal best in the 800-meter with a time of 2:17.57, just one second off the lead.

Junior Lou Hohnka won the mile with a lifetime best of 5:07.70. Freshman Mary Beth Acker, who finished the mile right behind Hohnka, was happy with the outcome of the meet for her and the team.

"The meet was a really good experience for all of us," Acker said. "It was a really good team performance."

The Big Ten Championships are next for the Lions, but that will not be for another two weeks. These two meets were their last tune-up before the big test.

"We really showed great improvement this weekend," Jordan said. "Now we have two weeks to take care of our injuries and get ready for Big Ten."