JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The University of Pennsylvania track and field teams head to the Sunshine State this week to compete in the NCAA East Preliminaries at the University of North Florida, a four-day event that stretches from Wednesday to Saturday.
 
The Quakers are represented by 17 student-athletes in 15 different events. Sessions can be watched on ESPN+ and live results are located HERE.

DAY 1 RECAP | DAY 2 RECAP | DAY 3 RECAP | DAY 4 RECAP
 
WOMEN:

• 100m: Moforehan Abinusawa, 11.38
• 400m: Isabella Whittaker, 52.65
• 800m: Bronwyn Patterson, 2:04.95
• 10,000m: Maeve Stiles, 33:49.19
• Steeple: Olivia Morganti, 10:09.13
• 4x400m: Isabella Whittaker, Jocelyn Niemiec, Moforehan Abinusawa, Christiana Nwachuku, 3:34.30
• Pole Vault: Nataliia Ilieva, 4.22m
• Triple Jump: Tamara Grahovac, 12.73m 

MEN:

• 110m Hurdles: Shane Gardner, 13.91
• 1,500m: Zubeir Dagane, 3:42.71
• 10,000m: Dylan Throop, 28:48.59
• Steeple: Michael Keehan, 8:36.79
• High Jump: Mark Anselmi, 2.08m
• Pole Vault: James Rhoads, 5.36m; Scott Toney, 5.36m
• Hammer Throw: Scott Dochat, 61.18m

 
SCHEDULE OF COMPETITION (All times listed are Eastern time):

• Wednesday, May 24
  • 10:00AM: Men's Hammer First Round (Dochat)
  • 6:00PM: Men's 110m Hurdles First Round (Gardner)
  • 6:30PM: Men's Pole Vault First Round (Rhoads, Toney)
  • 6:30PM: Men's 1,500m First Round (Dagane)
  • 9:10PM: Men's 10,000m Semifinal (Throop)
• Thursday, May 25
  • 6:30PM: Women's Pole Vault First Round (Ilieva)
  • 7:00PM: Women's 100m First Round (Abinusawa)
  • 7:25PM: Women's 400m First Round (Whittaker)
  • 7:50PM: Women's 800m First Round (Patterson)
  • 9:10PM: Women's 10,000m Semifinal (Stiles)
• Friday, May 26
  • 2:30PM: Men's High Jump First Round (Anselmi)
  • 5:40PM: Men's Steeplechase Quarterfinals (Keehan)
• Saturday, May 27
  • 5:40PM: Women's Steeplechase Quarterfinals (Morganti)
  • 6:00PM: Women's Triple Jump First Round (Grahovac)
  • 6:50PM: Women's 400m Quarterfinals (Whittaker)
  • 7:05PM: Women's 800m Quarterfinals (Patterson)
  • 8:45PM: Women's 4x400m Relay Quarterfinals

 

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DAY 1 RECAP

The men opened up day one of the NCAA East Preliminaries on Wednesday at the University of North Florida, seeing action in the hammer throw, 110m hurdles, 1,500m, pole vault, and 10,000m. 

Scott Dochat started up the day in the hammer throw, finishing 30th overall with his furthest toss landing at 60.52m (198-7). He narrowly misses his personal best from earlier in the season, 61.18m (200-9). It was his first appearance at the NCAA East Preliminaries. 

Also in his first NCAA outing, freshman Shane Gardner took the track in the 110m hurdles on Wednesday afternoon. He finished 33rd with a time of 13.99. He competed in heat one, taking sixth. He concludes his rookie season with a program-record time set at outdoor Ivy Heps in the 110m hurdles of 13.91, tying Randy Cox's 1987 mark. 

Senior Zubeir Dagane competed in the 1,500m, taking 45th with a time of 3:51.55. He finished 12th in his heat. He concludes his senior season with the fourth-best mark in program history in the 1,500m, clocking a 3:42.71 earlier in the year, while also leaving his name at seventh in the outdoor mile, ninth in the outdoor 5K, and 10th in the outdoor 10K. 

The headliner of the day was at the pole vault where two Quakers competed, and Scott Toney punched his ticket to Austin, Texas for the NCAA Championships. Toney finished 12th overall, sealing up the final qualifying spot for the next round at NCAA Championships, clearing 5.30m (17-4.5). Rhoads took 24th with a height of 5.05m (16-6.75). 
 

We caught up with Scott after his great performance last night that punched his ticket to nationals!#ThePursuit | #FightOnPenn pic.twitter.com/KxK2R17fEz

— Penn Track & Field/XC (@PennTrack) May 25, 2023

 

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DAY 2 RECAP

The women took over North Florida on Thursday evening for their first day of the NCAA East Preliminaries, as two Quakers put together strong performances to qualify for Saturday's quarterfinals. 

In the 400m, Isabella Whittaker clocked a time of 53.69 in the second heat to take third place, grabbing one of the automatic qualifiers for Saturday. In the 800m, Bronwyn Patterson came through with a time of 2:06.07 for 14th overall, collecting one of the 24 bids for the quarterfinals. 

Several other Quakers competed on the track Thursday as well. In her first collegiate postseason appearance, freshman Moforehan Abinusawa clocked a time of 11.40 in the 100m first round for 30th place.

Junior Maeve Stiles wrapped up the day in the 10K, narrowly missing her ticket to Austin with a 16th-place finish on a time of 34:12.17.

Whittaker will compete in the 400m quarterfinals on Saturday at 6:50 p.m., while Patterson follows at 7:05 p.m. in the 800m quarterfinals. 

Had a great first day for the women yesterday including two qualifiers for quarterfinals on Saturday! Check out the full highlights!#ThePursuit | #FightOnPenn pic.twitter.com/Ql1fTY1OO2

— Penn Track & Field/XC (@PennTrack) May 26, 2023

 

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DAY 3 RECAP

The men wrapped up the week on Friday evening, competing in two events: the high jump and 3,000m steeplechase. 

Mark Anselmi, in his first East Preliminaries appearance, competed in the first heat of the high jump to start the day. Unfortunately, at his first height, he narrowly missed his first three attempts. He concluded his season with a season-best height of 2.08m.

Michael Keehan, a senior captain for the Quakers, competed later in the day in the Steeplechase quarterfinals, clocking a time of 9:00.67 for seventh in his heat and 21st overall. He also concluded his season with a program-record time in the steeple of 8:36.79.

 

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DAY 4 RECAP

The final day of the East Preliminaries came with a lot of excitement, as the women secured five more Quakers with tickets to Austin for the national championships. 

Olivia Morganti put together a program-record performance in the 3,000m steeplechase, taking second in her heat and fifth overall with a time of 9:59.41, topping her previous program record set earlier in the season of 10:09.13. Her second-place finish in her heat booked her an automatic trip to Texas.

The night ended with the 4x400m relay where Abinusawa, Whittaker, Jocelyn Niemiec, and Christiana Nwachuku pieced together the second-best time in program history of 3:34.93 for 10th overall, earning them a bid to the national championships. Whittaker started the relay, handing it off to Niemiec before Abinusawa took the third leg. Nwachuku took the anchor, coming through with a final lap of 53.08 to move onto the next round in Austin. 

Whittaker also competed earlier in the night, racing in the 400m quarterfinals. She narrowly missed the cut for nationals in the individual event, taking 13th with a time of 53.40. The top 12 advance to Austin. 

Patterson also competed in a quarterfinal of her own, taking the track in the 800m after Whittaker. With a time of 2:07.46, she came through for a sixth-place finish in her heat and 18th overall to conclude her sophomore season.

On the infield, Tamara Grahovac competed in the first round of the Triple Jump. She hit her longest distance of 12.86m (42-2.25) for 23rd place.

Talk about a fantastic kick! We caught up with Olivia Morganti after her record-breaking performance yesterday in the steeplechase to punch her ticket to Austin!#ThePursuit | #FightOnPenn pic.twitter.com/3aR7Upt7u3

— Penn Track & Field/XC (@PennTrack) May 28, 2023

Team work makes the dream work! These four killed it last night in their 4x400 performance to punch their ticket to Austin!#ThePursuit | #FightOnPenn pic.twitter.com/g4CvGOkqSz

— Penn Track & Field/XC (@PennTrack) May 28, 2023