photo by Ty Smith
Freshman jumper Jryi Davis leaps in the triple jump at the Kent State Tune Up in
Kent, Ohio on Feb. 21. Davis leaped at 13.86 meters, 14 centimeters short of the
NAIA national qualifying standard.

photo by Ty Smith
Freshman distance runner Eric Torres runs in the men's 5,000 meter race on Saturday at the Kent State Tune Up.

photo by Ty Smith
Freshman sprinter Chereese Langley takes off in the 4×400 meter relay after receiving the baton from fellow teammate Jahniah McAllister. 

Led by several track athletes who broke school and personal records, Point Park’s inaugural indoor track and field season ended with runners just seconds or inches short of being national qualifiers at the Kent State Tune Up in Kent, Ohio.

The highlights from the final meet of the indoor season came from multiple runners in various events.

“For a first year program, we are competing at a high level. I know once we have better weather and are at a track on a daily basis, my athletes will be competing at a whole other level,” head coach Kelly Parsley said in an email interview.

The meet started early in the morning with Katie Guarnaccia and Kelsey Wilkins competing in the women’s 5,000-meter run. Wilkins could not finish the race due to a hip injury that prevented her from going full speed. Guarnaccia, a freshman distance runner from North Allegheny High School, went on to lead the Pioneers, placing 10th with a school record time of 18:36.

“Today, I feel really good about my performance. I haven’t ran the 5K yet except for today,” Guarnaccia said. “I got 18:36, and that was a way better time than I was expecting and my coaches were expecting.”

Guarnaccia was just three seconds short of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) standard of 18:33.

The women’s 4×400-meter relay team set a school record with a time of 4:23.66. The relay team is made up of Guarnaccia, Jahniah McAllister, Chereese Langley and Amber Brown.

Brown also set a Point Park record in the 200-meter dash with a time of 26.82 seconds. She is the first female runner to run the 200-meter dash under 27 seconds for Point Park.

Alex Vaughn, a freshman sprinter on the men’s team, set a school record in the 400-meter dash with a time of 51.17 seconds, placing 20th overall at the meet.

Ja’Quan Lavender, also a freshman sprinter, was right behind Vaughn coming in at 52.55 seconds. Vaughn said he hopes to run under 49 seconds in the 400-meter once the outdoor season starts.

“I would like to go 48.5 seconds, which is pretty darn good for a freshman in college,” Vaughn said. “That will definitely turn some heads and spread the word for Point Park that we need.”

In the 60-meter hurdles, Christian Capers set a school record with a time of 8.92 seconds. Heath Hougas, a sophomore distance runner, increased his timing in the 800-meter by three seconds, coming in at 2:05.

The last event of the meet was the men’s triple jump, which was another highlight for the Pioneers.

Freshmen Shaun Berry and Jryi Davis placed seventh and ninth, respectively, in the triple jump.

Berry set a school record at 13.94 meters in the triple jump. Davis was not far behind and recorded 13.86 meters, 14 centimeters short of the NAIA indoor national qualifying standard of 14 meters.

The men’s and women’s track and field teams’ outdoor season will start on March 21 at the California (Pa.) Early Bird invitational. “Pioneers are going to blaze the trail and knock some people down,” Vaughn said. “[We’re] going to show some people we can put together a decent track team.”