STATE COLLEGE, Pa. – Behind a couple of personal indoor bests from sophomore Jennifer Esposito and freshman Kimberly Johansen, the Elon University track and field team had a strong showing on the final day of the Penn State National Invitational on Saturday, Feb. 1, inside the Horace Ashenfelter Indoor Track facility.
“We had some great performances today and some bright spots,” said Elon head track and field coach Mark Elliston. “We held our own against a really great group of teams and we managed to mix it up and do pretty well. We struggled a little bit jumping wise because we haven’t been able to get some technique work done due to the recent weather.”
Esposito ran a time of 57.16 in the 400-meter dash, beating her previous personal indoor best of 58.06 that she set on Jan. 18 at the Liberty Open. That mark is now the third-best performance in school history in the event as the Mansfield, Mass., native was 15th overall in the race.
Johansen also clocked the third-best performance in school history in her event, the 800-meters, as she finished with a time of 2:14.82, winning her heat and finishing 10th overall. Sydney Griffin had a good showing in the 200-meters with a time of 25.38.
In the shot put, senior Charlise Morgan garnered a top-five standing in the event after a toss of 47’1.5” (14.36m), just missing out on her own school-record of 47’4.25” (14.43m). Freshman Breanna Warren also threw well with a throw of 42’1” (12.84m) in her first ever-collegiate indoor meet, the fourth-best performance in program history.
The women’s 4×400-meter relay team of Bria Bell, Jennifer Pash, Veronica Luedke and Esposito ran the third-fastest performance in school history with a time of 3:52.70. The group finished 11th overall in the event.
Other members of the Phoenix distance team also competed at the Hilton Garden Inn Invitational in Winston-Salem, N.C., this weekend. Tereza Novotna stood out in the one-mile run with a time of 5:04.95 and a fourth place standing at that meet.
Elon returns to competition next week at the High Point Invitational on Feb. 6. That meet will be held at the JDL Fast Track Indoor facility in Winston-Salem, N.C.