SHIPPENSBURG, Pa.- The West Chester University women's track and field team is preparing for the PSAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships at Shippensburg this weekend, with action getting underway on Thursday with the beginning of the Heptathlon, along with the 10K and hammer, on days two and three of the Championships on Friday and Saturday.
"We've had a really good, fun spring season," acknowledged Director of Cross Country and Track and Field Colin Leak when asked about the season that was heading into Championship weekend. "It's been great to see our development week over week not only individually but as a unit and this weekend is our chance to see how that all comes together."
The PSAC has launched a Championship central page, which is available
here. This page includes complete information about the meet, including the live results link, event schedule, and ticketing information. As has become standard for PSAC Championship events in recent years, there will be no cash ticket sales at Shippensburg, and tickets must be purchased via this
link (Hudl Ticketing). Thursday's events will be free of charge, while prices for Friday and Saturday are set at $12 per day for general admission and $7 per day for students in grades K-12. PSAC Students with current, valid ID from a member Institution will be admitted free of charge throughout the weekend, as will children under five.
Fans unable to make the trip to Shippensburg this weekend can follow all the action via
live results and a myriad of live streaming options on the
PSAC Digital Network.
West Chester heads to the Outdoor Championships after an eighth-place finish at the PSAC Indoor Championships, highlighted by an indoor 800 title by
Cassie Nugin (Camp Hill, Pa./Cedar Cliff). At the Outdoor Championships last year at Slippery Rock, West Chester finished sixth, led by victories in the 100 and 200 by Lily Palacio Lewis in her final conference championship meet.
West Chester will take a large contingent of Golden Rams to Shippensburg this weekend, including five student athletes in the 100 and six in the 200, along with multiple athletes in a host of other events throughout the weekend.
"There are a lot of close battles to be won this weekend," said Leak. "Realistically, I think both programs are on the cusp of a top-five or better finish so every position in every event is going to matter this weekend."
In the 100,
Ava Mills (Harleysville, Pa./Souderton) enters with the top time on the team of 12.25 seconds from the Bill Butler Invitational, which is eighth fastest in the PSAC.
Katja Larsen (Spring City, Pa./Owen J. Roberts) is the 10th-fastest in the PSAC, clocking 12.26 seconds at the Bill Butler.
Genevieve McDonald (Elizabethtown, Pa./Elizabethtown), Erin Gombert (Lehighton, Pa./Palmerton), and Mya Thompson (Mount Joy, Pa./Hempfield) will join Mills and Larsen in the 100 when prelims get underway on Friday.
Larsen and McDonald lead West Chester in the 200 with sixth and 10th-fastest times in the league of 25.09 and 25.20 seconds, respectively. They will be joined by Gombert, Mills,
Amanda Marquis (Bridgeville, Pa./South Fayette), and
Morgan Pera (Center Valley, Pa./Southern Lehigh).
In the 400, Marquis and
Molly Minor (Haddonfield, N.J./Haddonfield Memorial) will lead West Chester
, with Minor leading the team in this event with the ninth-fastest time in the league of 58.14 seconds.
Nugin, who became the first Golden Ram to win the indoor 800 crown at the PSAC Indoor Championships, will compete in both the 800 and 1500 for West Chester this weekend, entering the Championships with the second fastest time in the league in both events at 2:12.95 and 4:39.32, respectively.
Ember Foster (Duncannon, Pa./Susquenita) will join Nugin in the 800 field as her time of 2:15.12 from the Bucknell Bison Outdoor Classic ranks third fastest in the PSAC.
Kristina Tapia (Ridley Park, Pa./Ridley) and
Jessalyn Welsh (Enola, Pa./East Pennsboro) will also do double duty this weekend as they will compete in the 5 and 10K. Tapia leads the team in both events and is third in the PSAC in the 5K and second in the 10K in 17:23.66 and 36:16.78, while Welsh is fifth and sixth in the league in 36:48.82 and 17:27.74, respectively.
Cate Hildebrand (Chalfont, Pa./C.B. South) will lead West Chester in the 400 hurdles as she enters with a time of 1:03.71 from the Paul Donahue Invitational earlier this month, which ranks ninth best in the league. She will also compete in the 100 hurdles alongside Pera and
Leah Wasko (Jim Thorpe, Pa./Jim Thorpe), who rank second and fifth in 14.40 and 14.58 seconds, respectively.
Abbie Williams (Huntley, Il/Huntley) and
Megan Werner (Bristol, Pa./Conwell Egan) will compete for West Chester in the 3000 Steeplechase, entering the weekend with the top (11:25.78) and ninth fastest (11:48.90) times in the league, respectively.
West Chester will conclude its weekend with the 4x400 relay, an event in which West Chester has the third-fastest time in the league at 3:54.13, while the Golden Rams also have the second-fastest 4x100 unit in the league, entering the Championships with a time of 47.27 seconds.
In field event action, it is a smaller group for West Chester, with the largest event group being a trio of pole vaulters, who are scheduled to compete on Friday afternoon.
Hannah LaFave (Spring Brook Township,Pa./North Pocono) leads this trio with the eighth-best mark in the league of 11 feet 6 ¼ inches (3.51 meters), while
Kaylie Groff (Palmyra, Pa./Palmyra) and
Emily Donegan (Hershey, Pa./Hershey) enter with marks of 11-1 ¾ (3.40m).
Nikolien Bezuidenhout (Garnet Valley, Pa./Garnet Valley) is scheduled to compete for West Chester in both the long jump and triple jump, and will be joined in the triple jump field by Wasko.
Emma Deyarmin (Leesport, Pa./Schuylkill Valley) will compete for West Chester in the shot put, while
Kendall Thompson (West Chester, Pa./West Chester East), who broke the WCU javelin record in her first outdoor meet as a Golden Ram with a mark of 132-3 (40.31m), will compete in the javelin alongside
Kayla Lockburner (Hillsborough, N.J./Hillsborough).
When asked about a final message to the group, Leak said, "We have a great opportunity in front of us with where I think we stack up heading into the Championships. This weekend won't be ideal from a weather standpoint but we need to keep our energy up and the teams that can do that the best and have the most pride on the line will be successful this weekend."
The top three finishers in each event will earn All-Conference honors and a host of Major Awards, including Women's Most Outstanding Track Athlete, Women's Most Outstanding Field Athlete, Women's Most Outstanding Overall Athlete, Men's Most Outstanding Track Athlete, Men's Most Outstanding Field Athlete, and Men's Most Outstanding Overall Athlete, will all be up for grabs this weekend.
