Hercules breaks long jump record as Marauders finish sixth at PSAC Championships

Sunday, February 18

Lehigh, PA

10:00 AM

Millersville University

PSAC Indoor Championships

Hercules breaks long jump record as Marauders finish sixth at PSAC Championships

2/19/2024 4:38:00 PM | Women's Indoor Track and Field

Photo Gallery

By: Connor Glunt, Athletic Communication Graduate Assistant

BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Marauders wrapped up their indoor track & field season with a sixth-place finish out of 15 teams at the PSAC Indoor Championships at Lehigh University. Millersville finished with 46 points.

DAY ONE HIGHLIGHTS

In the long jump, Chanel Hercules finished second with a jump of 18-3, breaking the previous record of 18-1, set in 2011. The performance gave the freshman All-PSAC status in her first conference indoor championships.
Fellow freshman Aubrey Bitner also scored for the Marauders, finishing fifth with a jump of 5.48.
Pole vaulter Darian Hauf earned All-PSAC honors for the third time in as many years, clearing 12-2 3/4. Hauf was the runner-up for the second straight year and has never placed lower than second at the PSAC Indoor Championships.
Megan Malecki finished just behind Hauf, clearing 11-9 and earning fourth place in the event.
In the weight throw, Sarah Hessler and Seya Trujillo advanced to the finals. Hessler finished fourth with a throw of 50-10 3/4, and Trujillo took seventh after hitting a mark of 48-3 1/2.
The team of Bri Pollock, Mary Weiss, Lindsay Solderitch, and Morgan Janiuk finished seventh in the distance medley relay to score for the Marauders, finishing in 12:47.59.
Hannah Sweda made a comeback in the 5,000-meter run to secure a point for the Marauders with an eighth-place finish. The junior made a jump in the pack around the midway mark of the run to sneak inside the top half with a time of 18:29.38

DAY TWO HIGHLIGHTS

Millersville started the day with Maddy Downs and Hessler advancing to the finals in shotput. Downs finished sixth with a throw of 41-4 1/4, and Hessler was ninth with 39-11 1/4.
Morgan Janiuk came in fourth place in the mile run, clocking in at 5:15.97.
The 4x400-meter relay team of Shelby Derkosh, Mary Weiss, Ashlyn Hickey, and Aubrey Sydnor finished in 4:02.54, good for sixth place and earning the Marauders a crucial three points.

RECORDS

Hercules' All-PSAC long jump performance set the record for the Marauders in the indoor event, beating the previous record by two inches. Bitner also climbed the record books, now owning a share of the fourth best jump in program history.
In the 60-meter hurdles, Sabela Zablackis completed the race in 9.33 seconds, a personal best and sixth best in program history.
Trujillo's throw of 48-3 1/2 was her personal best and the 10^th best throw in program history.
The team of Pollock, Weiss, Solderitch, and Janiuk's time of 12:47.59 in the distance medley relay was the Marauders best time this season and is the seventh best performance for indoors.
Sweda's performance in the 5,000-meter run was good for 10^th place in the record books.
Downs' throw in the shotput of 41-1 1/4 beat her previous personal best and mover her up one spot in the record book, now sitting at seventh place.
The 4x400-meter relay team finished with the ninth best time in indoor program history.

REACTION FROM HEAD COACH ANDY YOUNG
Overall thoughts on the meet: "I think we had our ups and downs in this meet. We had some really nice field event results. In the pole vault, we had [Hauf] earn All-Conference, and then in the long jump, we had [Hercules] make All-Conference as well. Good surprises from Aubrey Bitner in the long jump and Megan Malecki in the pole vault as well. We had a little bit of a surprise in the 5k with Hannah Sweda as well. She grabbed an eighth place, I think she barely made it into the meet, so that was neat to see that happen. The distance medley relay team grabbed a few points too which was really nice to see. Really proud of the girls pulling through in the 4x400-meter relay at the end, we had a couple of other really nice things happen today too. [Janiuk] in the mile-run did really well, she really exceeded her expectations. Maddy Downs in the shotput did very well today too, so we were very excited to see that happen. We need a few more things to go our way to be further in the mix, but it's a good start for our outdoor season, so we're happy with that."

FULL MEET RESULTS

Click HERE for the full results from both days.

UP NEXT

The Marauders will have one more chance to qualify athletes for the NCAA Division II Indoor Championships at the Fasttrack Last Chance Invite at 1 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 23 in Staten Island, N.Y.