PHILADELPHIA – The University of Pennsylvania track and field programs split up for two meets this past weekend, competing at the Tennessee Relays and the Mason Spring Invitational in Virginia.
 
The weekend was highlighted by two program records by Skyla Wilson and Haley Rizek, as well as the fourth highest mark in program history in the pole vault by Abby Norwillo.
 
TENNESSEE RELAYS RECAP
Eight Quakers made the trip to Knoxville for the three-day Tennessee Relays, with Wilson and Rizek setting program records in their respective events.
 
Wilson, who set the record in the 100m hurdles just weeks ago, set the mark even lower on Friday, clocking a time of 13.51 to finish fifth in the event. Rizek competed in the heptathlon for the second time this season, putting together a two-day total of 5,237 points to boost her to the top of the record book as well as finishing fourth in the event out of 16 scorers.
 
Isabella Whittaker, Jocelyn Niemiec, and Caia Gelli also competed individually in the 400m on Friday. Whittaker was a part of the 'power hour', taking fourth with a time of 55.87. Niemiec (56.14) and Gelli (56.26) raced in the 400m flight, taking third and fourth, respectively.
 
The trio and Wilson teamed up for the 4x400 as well, taking third with a time of 3:41.61.
 
Out at throws, Mayyi Mahama narrowly missed her program record of 65.66, taking third place with a throw of 65.01. At the javelin, Marc Minichello earned second place with a throw of 74.91.
 
Andrew Colbert rounded out the group of Quakers in Tennessee, competing in the decathlon where he put together 6,251 points for 18th place.
 
MASON SPRING INVITATIONAL RECAP
The rest of the Quakers squad enjoyed a successful day at George Mason on Saturday, led by Norwillo who posted the fourth-best mark in the pole vault in program history. On her first attempt, she cleared a height of 3.97m for the victory.
 
Norwillo was joined by plenty of teammates with top five finishes at the meet. On the women's side, the Quakers had 12 top five honors with four victories.
 
At the high jump, Claire Moreau and Addie Renner each cleared 1.68m on their first attempt to take first. In the 100m hurdles, Shevell Higgs clocked a top time of 14.31, while Katherine Muccio came in right behind her in second with a time of 14.37.
 
Also on the track, Bronwyn Patterson (2:08.13) earned second place in the 800m, and Ariana Gardizy in her first outdoor appearance of the season crossed the line in second place of the 5,000m with a time of 17:03.06. Zoe Shetty took fifth in the race, clocking a time of 17:10.95. Ruth Itua and Aliya Garozzo each took fifth in their events. Itua finished in 24.65 in the 200m, and Garozzo clocked a time of 56.31 in the 400m.
 
At throws, Kirstin West took second place in javelin with a throw of 42.52m.
 
On the men's side, the Quakers scored 17 top-five finishes including four victories. Mason Gatewood earned a win in the 1,500m with a time of 3:47.96. The Quakers also won the 4x100, crossing at 41.28. The other victories came at the jumps, with Conrad Moore clearing 2.09m on his first attempt in the high jump, and James Rhoads taking the victory in the pole vault with a high of 5.17m. Benedikt Sachta took third in the vault, clearing 4.82m.
 
On the track, Weston Wendt earned second in the 100m with a time of 10.79, while Emerson Douds took third in the 200m at 21.63. In the 800m, Ray Sellaro led a trio of Quakers across the line from second to fourth. Sellaro took second with a time of 1:50.92, while James Lee (1:50.97) and Edwin Klanke (1:51.24) followed closely behind. In the 5,000m, Justin Iler and Dylan Throop took second and third, respectively, with times of 14:28.11 and 14:29.09.
 
In the hurdles, Liam O'Hara earned second place in the 400m event with a time of 54.33, and Enoch Cheung took fifth in the 110m event at 14.49.
 
Elijah Cook wrapped up the Quaker top-five finishes at the javelin, taking fourth with a throw of 60.18m.
 
The Quakers continue the season next weekend at the Larry Ellis Invitational. The two-day meet begins on Friday at Princeton.