Red Flash Women Take Second, Men Take Fourth at Western PA Champs

CALIFORNIA, Pa. (March 28, 2009) – The Saint Francis women’s track & field team placed second and the men finished in fourth at the 2009 Western Pennsylvania Championships in the campus of California University of Pennsylvania on Saturday.

The teams return to action on Friday at the William & Mary Colonial Relays in Williamsburg, Virginia.

Christin Staily (Martinsburg, Pa./Central Cambria) took third in the 100-meter dash in her spring debut, crossing the line in a time of 13.29.   Danielle Williams (Altoona, Pa./Bishop Guilfoyle) and Noelle Lyons (North Huntingdon, Pa./Norwin) took sixth and 12th, respectively, in the 400-meter dash.   Williams ran the event in 1:02.90, while Lyons finished in 1:04.86.  

Continuing with the great performances, Kathleen Cianci (Greenville, Pa./Kennedy Catholic) placed sixth in the 800-meter run (2:27.41) while Hannah Reist finished seventh (2:27.54) and Williams took ninth place with a time of 2:28.77.   Reist also took fourth in the 3000-meter steeplechase.

The 1500-meter was one of the most successful events of the day for the Red Flash, as they went 2-3-4 in the event.  Allyson Sheehan (Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin) crossed the line in third (5:00.57), while Sara Grossi (Canonsburg, Pa./Canon-McMillan) picked up fourth place (5:01.06).  Cianci crossed the line in 5:04.88, bettering her preliminary time by almost eight seconds.  Julie Yasko (Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin) also fared well in the distance events, finishing third in the 5,000 meter run with a time of 20:06.88.

In the hurdles, Nicole Brownyard (Carlisle, Pa./Trinity) grabbed seventh place in the 100-meter event and sixth in the 400-meter event, while Kayla Kline (Ebensburg, Pa./Cambria Heights) took fourth in the 400-meter hurdles.  

The 4x100 meter relay team of Kline, Staily, Sarah Harmon (Quantico, Md./James M. Bennett) and Desiree Black took second with a time of 51.56.

Christin Bridge (Gibsonia, Pa./Pine Richland) won the women’s shot put with a throw of 13.55 meters, and teammate Kathryne Kendrick took fifth.    The duo also placed fourth and fifth, respectively in the discus throw and went 6-7 in the hammer throw.  

For the men, Anthony Rusonis (York, Pa./West York Area) took sixth in the 400-meter dash in a time of 52.08.  Teammate Everette Farmer (Baltimore, Md./Loyola Blakefield) was two spots behind him, crossing the line in 52.27.   Brian Kealey (Southampton, Pa./Archbishop Wood) placed seventh in the 800-meter run (2:01.84), and Ryan DuBois (Wayne, N.J./DePaul Catholic) took eleventh in the same event.  
Seven Red Flash runners placed it the top 11 in the 1,500-meter run with Kyle Gibson (Canonsburg, Pa./Canon McMillan) claiming third in a time of 4:06.99.

The men’s 4 x 100 relay team of Farmer, Rusonis, Tony Armstead (Harrisburg, Pa./Harrisburg) and Gerami Lanois (Mississauga, Ontario/Loyola Catholic) grabbed fourth place with a time of 44.08.

In the field events, Michael Steffenino (Adara, Pa./Norwin) took sixth in the pole vault with a distance of 4.11 meters.    Josh Hazen (Vernon, N.J./Vernon) took his indoor success outdoors, winning the shot put with a throw of 15.21 meters.  

Robert Morris took top honors on the men’s side with 171 points and on the women’s side with 78.  The Red Flash men compiled 74 points while the women collected 143.