Penn State Jim Thorpe Open
Track Teams Compete at Jim Thorpe Open
5/3/2013 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA – The University at Buffalo men's and women's track and field teams competed in their final meet of the regular season at Penn State's Jim Thorpe Open. There was no team scoring in the four-team meet that also included Shippensburg, Monroe College and the host Nittany Lions.
Resting many of its top athletes for next weekend's Mid-American Conference Championships, the Bulls had three first-place finishes, sweeping the men's and women's pole vault competitions and claiming a victory in the women's high jump.
Adam Hume won the men's pole vault with a season-best height of 15-9 (4.80m). Hume improved his top height by nearly a foot after setting his previous best of 14-10 (4.52m) at the Florida Relays in early April. Craig Howard, who set the UB pole vault record earlier in the season, finished third on Friday at 15-3 (4.65m).
Kelly Truppo and Kaitlin Mack claimed the top two spots in the women's pole vault. Truppo won the competition at 12-6.25 (3.82m), tying her season-best mark set at last week's Cornell Big Red Invitational. Mack cleared 11-10.50 (3.62m) to finish second adding two inches to her top height.
Emma Siuciak won the women's high jump. She cleared 5-8 (1.73m) an inch better than Penn State's Erika Morgan.
The Bulls were also strong in the shot put events. Jonathan Jones finished second in the men's shot put at 61-5.75 (18.74m). In the women's event, Kristy Woods set a season-best mark and posted UB's top throw of the season with a toss of 50-8.25 (15.45m), the only throw over 50 feet in 2013. Former UB all-american and unattached entrant Becky O'Brien won the event at 57-8.50 (17.59m), more than a foot better than her current UB record.
The UB women also finished second, third and fourth in the hammer throw. Erin Miller placed second at 184-4 (56.20m) while Shante' White was third (183-1, 56.01m) and Woods was fourth (176-5, 53.78m). Evan Palmer finished third in the men's hammer throw at 154-5 (47.07m). Palmer was also third in the men's discus at 167-6 (51.08m).
The teams also had third-place finishes in several events. John Strickland was third in the men's high jump at 6-5 (1.96m). On the track, Charlie Bascom set a season-best of 1:56.54 in the men's 800-meters. Matthew Killian turned in a season-best 55.88 in the men's 400-meter hurdles. Hilary Swartwood also set a season-best of 4:39.38 in the women's 1,500-meters. Sabrina Bush took third in the women's 100-meter hurdles at 15.16.
The Bulls will next compete at the MAC Championships in Akron, OH, May 9-11.
