NEW YORK, N.Y. – The University of Pennsylvania track and field teams made the trek up to the Big Apple this weekend for the Rutgers Open at The Armory, as the Quakers put together nine different record book marks including a new program record time in the 60m hurdles by freshman Shane Gardner.
 
DAY 1
The Quakers kicked off the two-day meet with a strong Friday performance, including three top-10 program marks in two different events.
 
On the women's side, the mile was highlighted by the top two spots for Olivia Morganti and Lizzy Bader. Morganti crossed the line first with a time of 4:48.88 to move into eighth in program history, while Bader followed her in at 4:48.99 for 10th in the record book. Lily Murphy earned a top 10 finish in the event with a time of 4:58.14.
 
Edwin Klanke secured the other program mark in the 1,000m, edging out former Quaker Justin Cornetta who now runs as a graduate student for Rutgers, taking first place with a time of 2:23.18. The mark moves him into second place in program history. Kyle Miller also finished in the top 10 for the race, clocking a time of 2:26.73 for seventh place.
 
The Quakers had plenty of other top 10 finishes for the day, led by a pair of victories in the women's 400m and 600m. Isabella Whittaker collected a top finish in the 400m, clocking a time of 55.34, while Caia Gelli came through for third with a time of 56.72. In the 600m, Aliya Garozzo earned a victory with a time of 1:32.42, and Jocelyn Niemiec followed her in for third on a time of 1:33.19.
 
The women registered two other top 10s on the track. In the 1,000m, Olivia Babski earned seventh with a time of 2:52.74, and Anastasia Russell took sixth in the 5,000m on a time of 17:55.46. On the infield, Daniella Oyenuga took 10th in the long jump with a distance of 5.29m (17-4.25).
 
On the men's side, Devante Heywood and Titus Bretzke took second place in their respective events. Heywood took second in the 400m with a time of 49.12, while Robbie Ruppel joined him in the event with an eighth-place finish (49.58). Bretzke clocked a time of 1:19.60 in the 600m for second, and Denis Gallagher came in less than a second behind him for third with a time of 1:20.47.
 
Also on the track, the men's mile had three Quakers take top 10 finishes led by Liam Going in fifth (4:13.35). Matthew Fernando came through in seventh (4:13.87), and Luke Johnson took 10th (4:14.99).
 
On the infield, Jack Meigel cleared 1.99m (6-6.25) in the high jump to take third place.
 
DAY 2
Saturday wrapped up with a ton of great performances highlighted by a program record set in the 60m hurdles by Gardner. After qualifying for the finals with a second-place finish in the preliminaries on a time of 8.09, Gardner collected second in the last race with a time of 7.88 for the new standard in program history. He jumps over Bryan O'Neil's 2002 mark of 7.90.
 
Freshman Jake Rose also qualified for the finals in the 60m hurdles, taking ninth overall with a time of 8.29.
 
Gardner continued his day in the 60m, taking first place with a time of 7.04. He was joined by Aaron Stillitano in second place (7.05), while Charles Jarvis took 10th with a time of 7.23.
 
Other success on the track came in the 3,000m where Michael Keehan crossed in first place with a time of 8:06.45, good enough for fifth in program history. He had two teammates come through for top five finishes as well. Troy Hill took third with a time of 8:12.95 and Zubeir Dagane earned fifth with a time of 8:22.24.
 
On the infield, three Quakers took top 10 finishes. At the pole vault, James Rhoads cleared 5.15m (17-4.5) for second place, while Benedikt Sachta took third with a height of 4.85m (15-11). At the shot put, Olatide Abinusawa took sixth with a distance of 16.49m (54-1.25).
 
On the women's side, the Quakers posted three times on the track that moved them up the program top-10 list. In the 60m hurdles final, Katherine Muccio took third with a time of 8.55 to move into sixth in program history. Garozzo finished eighth in the race with a time of 8.86.
 
Whittaker, after a successful first day, set a new PR on Saturday in the 200m, taking fourth with a time of 24.55 to shift into ninth in program history. Moforehan Abinusawa followed her in for fifth with a time of 24.59.
 
Bronwyn Patterson set the last mark on the track for the day, cruising to a top finish in the 800m with a time of 2:06.11 to jump all the way up to third in program history. She narrowly missed the second-best mark in the record book by half a second. In the race, Babski took 10th with a time of 2:13.48.
 
The track events wrapped with the 4x400, as a crew of Abinusawa, Niemiec, Gelli, and Muccio combined for a time of 3:48.10 to take first.
 
On the infield, Nataliia Ilieva took eighth in the pole vault with a clearance of 3.83m (12-6.75) to move into fifth in program history. At the triple jump, Olutuminu Onaleye took seventh (11.85m), while Ijeoma Eziri came in eighth (11.77m).
 
Up Next
The Quakers split up next weekend, as part of the squad heads south to Lynchburg for the Darius Dison Memorial Invitational hosted by Liberty and the other part heads north to Boston for the Valentine's Invitational.