Elon Track and Field Heads to Penn State National

STATE COLLEGE, Pa., – Fresh off an impressive performance last weekend, the Elon women’s track and field team returns to indoor competition in its largest meet to date at the Penn State National on Friday, Jan. 25. The first scheduled event is slated to start on Friday at the Ashenfelter III Indoor Track facility.

The Phoenix will face quality competition from the field in the two-day meet, including host Penn State, East Carolina, Syracuse, Pittsburgh, Georgetown, Bucknell and West Virginia.

Elon took home the team title last Saturday, Jan. 19, at the Wake Forest Invitational in its first meet of the 2013 calendar year. The maroon and gold scored 92 points behind school-record performances by junior thrower Charlise Morgan and freshman high jumper Megan Kirschling. Morgan shattered both the shot put and weight throw marks with tosses of 47’4.25″ (14.43) and 51’11.75″ (15.84) respectively.

Kirschling tied her own school-record in the high jump with a cleared height of 5’8” (1.73) and took home her second title of the year in the event.

Last Time Out for Elon
Kirschling and Morgan were not the only members of the squad to have a notable showing at Wake Forest. Sophomore Tereza Novotna ran the second-fastest time in program history in the one-mile run, crossing the line in third overall with a time of 5:01. Novotna was one of four Elon runners in the top-10 in the event.

Freshman Sydney Griffin set a new personal-record by clocking an 8.76 in the 60-meter hurdles and finishing fourth overall. She still holds the second fastest time in school history in the race, after setting the mark in December.

Going the Distance
The Elon distance runners got off to a great start last weekend in their indoor season debut. Emily Tryon and Haylee Dawe finished in the two and three positions in the 3,000-meter run with times of 0:21.27 and 10:22.72 respectively.

In the 800-meter run, Julie Hart was the top performer for the Phoenix after crossing the line in fourth with a time of 2:21.17, followed closely by Ellie Taff in fifth and a time of 2:21.21.

Making a Name for Themselves
While overshadowed by their record performing teammates, Haley Laird and Kimberlyn Holt also performed well for the maroon and gold at Wake Forest. Laird was the runner-up to Kirschling in the high jump and led the event until Kischling’s final jump. Laird cleared a height of 5’6” (1.68), setting a new personal-best.

Holt finished in the top-five in the weight throw with a toss of 49’10.5” (15.20), a new personal-best at Elon.

Next Up
The Phoenix is slated to compete next at the Gene Anderson Invitational on Feb. 2, in Chapel Hill, N.C.