The men’s and women’s track and field members competed hard for two days during the Bison Open and Multi and the Penn State National Invite, both held from Jan. 25-26. The women’s team displayed several solid performances both days of the meets.

At Penn State, Kaitlyn Salisbury ’20 leaped to a new personal best in the triple jump with a mark of 40-3 ¼, ranking her third on the Bison’s all-time list. Samantha Lopes ’22 finished 11th with a jump at 38-1 ½ and now ranks 10th on the University’s all-time list.

“The two highlights of the day were Salisbury placing second in the triple jump and breaking 40 feet,” and Lopes’ performance, “who just missed making finals but had a season best,” head coach Kevin Donner said.

Continuing the momentum into day two of the Penn State National Invite with more strong showings across the board, Salisbury earned the Bison’s top individual finish with third place in the 200-meter sprint. The Orange and Blue also saw success with Karly Forker ’22 and Gianna Mincone ’20, who both finished in the top 10 of the 800-meter.

At the Bison Open, Bailie Rizzo ’22 finished third in the 500-meter, while teammates Tara Lyons ’22 and Alexandra Koumas ’20 were not far behind coming in fifth and sixth in the event, respectively. The women’s team placed high in the top-10 across the board in several events, including the 3000-meter run, the mile, the weight throw, and the distance medley relay.

On the men’s side at Penn State, pole vaulters Matt Fay ’19 and Nicholas Marino ’21 finished fourth and fifth, respectively, by clearing 16-4 ¾ and 15-7. Reggie Harris ’19 also posted a strong performance for the Bison leaping 46-10 ¼ in the triple jump and earning him a spot in the finals with a fifth overall finish.

During day one of the Bison Open and Multi, Billy Melchionni ’19 finished second in the 200-meter while Kevin Boyle ’22 finished eighth in the event, both with impressive times.

The men’s team finished on a high note on their second day of competition. At Penn State, Sean Conway ’20 recorded the highest individual finish of the day, running a 1:20.66 in the 600-meter to finish sixth overall. Other top 10 finishers include Owen Chase ’22 and Nick Pacelli ’20 in the 1000-meter. At the Bison Open and Multi, Jeff Brown ’20 took home a win in the 60-meter. Carson Etnyre ’22 earned a runner up spot in the 500-meter with a 1:06.33 time.

The track and field team will return to action in Boston on Feb. 2 at the Scarlet and White Invitational.