Behrend Men's Track & Field Team Wins Carnegie Mellon Invitational; Women Finish Third

The Penn State Behrend men's and women's track & field teams turned in outstanding efforts on Saturday, April 10 at the Carnegie Mellon Invitational.  Four Division III teams competed in the event and the Behrend men's team took first place with 204 points, while the women earned a third place finish with 152 points.

Four new school records were set, with three of the new marks on the men's side to go with one new women's record.  Five ECAC qualifying marks were reached to go with one NCAA provisional qualifying mark.

For the men, Eston Winn (Erie/McDowell) had the top mark of the day when he cleared 15' 5.00" in the pole vault for an NCAA provisional qualifying score, while setting a new Behrend record.  Also coming through with a big day was Behrend standout Ronson Mazany (Ashville, NY/Panama Central).  Mazany had three first place finishes, in the high jump, triple jump, and long jump.  His leap of 22' 4.5" in the long jump was also good for an ECAC qualifying mark.  John Bowman (Clearfield/Clearfield Area) set a new school record in the hammer throw with a mark of 129' 3" which was good for a third place finish in the event.  The junior thrower also had a first place finish in the javelin with a toss of 174' 6".

In the men's pole vault Denny Kang (South Park/South Park) cleared 14' 11" to finish third and Mike Stark (Gibsonia/Pine-Richland) finished fourth by clearing 14' 5.25" as both hit ECAC qualifying scores.  Justin DiPenti (Warren/Warren) finished second in the 1500 meter run, Shane Cyphert (North East/North East) was second in the 400 meter dash, and Vinnie Krawiec (Erie/McDowell) finished second in the 100 meter dash.  Earl Bass won the 110 meter hurdles with a time of 15.57 seconds, while Stark was just behind at 15.59 seconds, with both hurlders hitting an ECAC qualifying times.  Craig Webb (Johnstown/Richland) was also a first-place finisher in the 200 meter dash with a time of 23.20 seconds. 

On the women's side Katie Monoskey (Punxsutawney/Punxsutawney) had a huge day with two first place finishes and one second.  The sophomore set a new Behrend record in the hammer throw at 135' 5" and marked at 34' 10.5" in the shot put to win both events.  Tanisha Wheatley (Saltsburg/Kiski) captured first in the 3000 meter steeplechase by finishing with a time of 12:33.27, while Meghan Kronenwetter (St. Marys/Elk County Catholic) came in at 5:09.88 good for a first place finish in the 1500 meter run and Mandy Wehrle (Rossiter/Punxsutawney) ran the 400 meter dash in 1:00.38 for a first place finish of her own. 

Angela Sweeney (Jackson, NJ/Jackson Memorial) finished second in the pole vault, Jenna Fatica (Erie/McDowell) was second in the 800 meter run, Victoria Harwood (Fair Haven/Rumson-Fair Haven) was third in the high jump, and Katie White (Warren/Warren) also took a third place in the javelin.

The men's and women's track & field teams get right back at it this weekend with the first of two meets heading into the conference championships.  The Behrend Lions will compete first on Saturday, April 17 at the Westminster Invitational, followed by a meet April 24 at Baldwin-Wallace.