Full Results

NEW YORK - The University of Pennsylvania men's and women's track and field teams faced their toughest competition to date, taking part in the Columbia East-West Challenge at The Armory in New York City over the weekend. The women finished second, with 99 points, only behind the nation's number one team, Oregon. The men totaled a fifth-place finish, ahead of Ivy League foes Harvard and Columbia. 

The women's performance was highlighted by three new school records, including top marks from Breanne Bygrave, Taylor McCorkle and Rachel Wilson. Bygrave, a freshman, notched the best time in program history in the 60-meter hurdles, running a 8.47, good for fourth in the race. McCorkle bested her previous record in the 60-meter dash, crossing the finish line in 7.45 seconds, sixth at the challenge. Wilson also improved upon her previous record mark in the weight throw, tossing a distance of 18.41 meters, second among competition. 

Those school records were only the tip of the iceberg for the Quakers, who boasted eight podium finishes and a total of 14 top-10 record book performances. The Red and Blue dominated the 500-meter race, as Mikayla Schneider won the event at 1:14.65, followed by Elena Brown-Soler in second at 1:15.28. Those times sit at seventh and eighth respectively in Penn laurels. 

Clarissa Whiting took home third in the 3000-meter race with a time of 9:32.75, improving upon her previous best time and moving up to fifth in the Penn record books. In team racing, the group of McCorkle, Schneider, Cecil Ene and Brown-Soler finished third in the 4x400 relay with a time of 3:46.60, the fourth-best time in school history. Ashley Montgomery, Ene, Schneider and Cleo Whiting notched a time of 11:18.25 in the distance medley relay, the second-best time ever for the Red and Blue, third-place in New York, and 10th in the country to-date. 

In field events, Anna Peyton Malizia matched her personal best in the high jump with a distance of 1.70 meters, seventh-best in Penn history. Molly Minnig improved her spot in the pole vault with a leap of 3.65 meters, followed by Olivia Welsh and Katherine Schroeder at 3.55 meters. Maura Kimmel finished fourth in the shot put with a throw of 14.47 meters. 

The men's side was highlighted by a first-place finish in the 1000-meter run from Chris Hatler with a time of 2:23.30, just milliseconds off the best time ever in Penn history. Elias Graca, Billy Bishop and Sean Ryan joined Hatler with podium finishes of their own. Graca finished third in the 800-meter race with a time of 1:52.88, while Bishop placed third in the shot put with a distance of 16.43 meters. Ryan competed in weight throw, finishing third with a distance of 17.94 meters. 

Ross Wilson entered into the Penn record books in the 3000-meter race with a time of 8:14.54, good for 11th in New York. In group races, the group of Nick Tuck, Jeff Wiseman, Joe Novak and Hatler finished fifth in the distance medley relay with a time of 9:43.22, good for 11th best in the country to date this season. 

The Quakers return to action next weekend, competing in Staten Island for the second time this season, this time for the Villanova Invitational.

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