WVU Prepares for Penn State National Open
January 24, 2019 03:22 PM | Track & Field
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University track and field team travels to University Park, Pennsylvania, for the Penn State National Open, from Jan. 25-26.
Competition at Penn State's Ashenfelter Indoor Track is set to begin at 4 p.m. on Friday, with Saturday's action scheduled to begin at 10:50 a.m. Fans can follow the Mountaineers all weekend long with live results, presented by pttiming.com, and a live stream from flotrack.org.
"We are looking forward to continuing to build upon our performances from the past two weeks," WVU coach Sean Cleary said. "Penn State is always an easy trip for us, and we know the facility well. This weekend gives us a terrific opportunity to introduce a new breed of competition to our newcomers, as well as put all our girls in a strong position to improve. We are beginning to get into a rhythm as far as workouts and competitions, which will help us down the road."
WVU is joined by more than 30 schools at the meet, including No. 22 Penn State, Bucknell, Cornell, East Carolina, Georgetown, Maryland, Penn, Pitt, Saint Joseph's, Youngstown State and others.
This weekend marks the first of two trips to Penn State for the Mountaineers this indoor season. WVU also will compete in the Penn State Tune-Up on Saturday, Feb. 16. The meet marks the eighth time the Mountaineers will compete in an indoor meet in University Park since the start of the 2014-15 season.
Last year, West Virginia earned four victories at the PSU National Open. On the track, Amy Cashin won the women's mile, while Candace Jones was victorious in the women's 1,000 meters (invitational). In the field, Shamoya McNeil placed first in the women's triple jump, while Sara Finfrock won the women's pole vault.
The Mountaineers earned two wins and a total of eight top-eight finishes, including four top-three performances, at the YSU College Invite, in Youngstown, Ohio, on Jan. 18. Redshirt senior Madelin Gardner posted a mark of 4.31 meters (14 feet, 1.75 inches) to win the women's pole vault (seeded). The jump broke the Watson and Tressel Training Site record in the event and ranked as the No. 1 mark in the Big 12 Conference and tied for No. 6 in the nation so far this season.
Additionally, redshirt freshman Hayley Jackson won the women's 3,000 meters at Youngstown with a time of 9:54.40. Jackson won the race by more than 17 seconds.
Along with Gardner and Jackson, freshman Peter-Gay McKenzie earned a pair of top-three finishes. She placed second in the women's 60-yard dash (7.73) before registering a third-place finish in the women's high jump (unseeded), with a mark of 1.57 meters (5 feet, 1.75 inches).
Freshmen Mikenna Vanderheyden (fourth – 500 meters) and Molly DeBone (seventh – unseeded pole vault), redshirt freshman Marianne Abdalah (seventh – 3,000 meters) and redshirt sophomore Antigone Archer (eighth – mile) also earned top-eight finishes on the day.
The Penn State National Open marks the Mountaineers' third consecutive weekend competition. The team will compete for a total of seven straight weeks, which includes the 2019 Big 12 Indoor Championship, from Feb. 22-23, in Lubbock, Texas.
For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVUXCTF on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Competition at Penn State's Ashenfelter Indoor Track is set to begin at 4 p.m. on Friday, with Saturday's action scheduled to begin at 10:50 a.m. Fans can follow the Mountaineers all weekend long with live results, presented by pttiming.com, and a live stream from flotrack.org.
"We are looking forward to continuing to build upon our performances from the past two weeks," WVU coach Sean Cleary said. "Penn State is always an easy trip for us, and we know the facility well. This weekend gives us a terrific opportunity to introduce a new breed of competition to our newcomers, as well as put all our girls in a strong position to improve. We are beginning to get into a rhythm as far as workouts and competitions, which will help us down the road."
WVU is joined by more than 30 schools at the meet, including No. 22 Penn State, Bucknell, Cornell, East Carolina, Georgetown, Maryland, Penn, Pitt, Saint Joseph's, Youngstown State and others.
This weekend marks the first of two trips to Penn State for the Mountaineers this indoor season. WVU also will compete in the Penn State Tune-Up on Saturday, Feb. 16. The meet marks the eighth time the Mountaineers will compete in an indoor meet in University Park since the start of the 2014-15 season.
Last year, West Virginia earned four victories at the PSU National Open. On the track, Amy Cashin won the women's mile, while Candace Jones was victorious in the women's 1,000 meters (invitational). In the field, Shamoya McNeil placed first in the women's triple jump, while Sara Finfrock won the women's pole vault.
The Mountaineers earned two wins and a total of eight top-eight finishes, including four top-three performances, at the YSU College Invite, in Youngstown, Ohio, on Jan. 18. Redshirt senior Madelin Gardner posted a mark of 4.31 meters (14 feet, 1.75 inches) to win the women's pole vault (seeded). The jump broke the Watson and Tressel Training Site record in the event and ranked as the No. 1 mark in the Big 12 Conference and tied for No. 6 in the nation so far this season.
Additionally, redshirt freshman Hayley Jackson won the women's 3,000 meters at Youngstown with a time of 9:54.40. Jackson won the race by more than 17 seconds.
Along with Gardner and Jackson, freshman Peter-Gay McKenzie earned a pair of top-three finishes. She placed second in the women's 60-yard dash (7.73) before registering a third-place finish in the women's high jump (unseeded), with a mark of 1.57 meters (5 feet, 1.75 inches).
Freshmen Mikenna Vanderheyden (fourth – 500 meters) and Molly DeBone (seventh – unseeded pole vault), redshirt freshman Marianne Abdalah (seventh – 3,000 meters) and redshirt sophomore Antigone Archer (eighth – mile) also earned top-eight finishes on the day.
The Penn State National Open marks the Mountaineers' third consecutive weekend competition. The team will compete for a total of seven straight weeks, which includes the 2019 Big 12 Indoor Championship, from Feb. 22-23, in Lubbock, Texas.
For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVUXCTF on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Players Mentioned
Distance
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Distance
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Pole Vault
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Pole Vault
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Pole Vault
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Mid-Distance
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Multi
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Jumps
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Mid-Distance
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