Temple University Athletics
Saturday, April 27
Philadelphia, PA.
Temple University
at
Penn Relays (Saturday)
Brown Medals in High Jump; 4x4 Hits Season PR at 125th Penn Relays Finale
4.27.19 | Women's Track and Field
PHILADELPHIA – It was a thrilling three-day end to the regular season for the Temple track and field squad, racing at the historic 125th running of the Penn Relays, April 25-27. After two days full of stellar performances, the Owls concluded the action on Saturday with a high jump medal for Aisha Brown and a season's-best running of the 4x400m relay.
Saturday Meet Highlights
> Brown got day three of the Relays started in the high jump in an extremely windy day at Franklin Field. The sophomore cleared opening height of 1.70m on her second attempt, advancing to 1.74m with five of her competitors. At her final clearance, she soared over the bar at 1.74m, good for a fourth place finish on the day.
> The Owls did not disappoint in their only relay on the day, competing in the College Women's 4x400 Eastern finals to close out their third day of competition. The squad ran the same quartet that brought them to the finals, which ran a season's best time of 3:48.60 on Thursday afternoon. The relay team of Sydney Williams, Mallorie Smith, Brown and Madison Beecher came out blazing in their final race of the weekend, shattering their previous time to finish fifth in 3:45.54.
Overall Penn Relays Highlights
> Day one of the Relays was highlighted by two new school-records and a slew of season-best time on the track at the historic Franklin Field. To get the day started, sophomore Sydney Williams opened the weekend action with a solid performance of 104.43 in the 400m hurdles.
> The squad raced in its first College Women's Distance Medley Championship of America Individual Medley on Thursday evening, representing Temple in good fashion. The quartet of Gottlieb (1200m, 3:28.19), Smith (400m, 54.79), McKenzie Gelvin (800m, 2:14.98) and Millie Howard (1600m, 4:52.76) shattered the DMR program record by four seconds, resetting it to 11:30.70 while they raced among some of the nation's fastest.
> On a quick turnaround, Temple was back on the track just 15 minutes later to race a familiar event in the 4x4. While the event may be common for the Owls, the squad of Smith, Williams, Brown and Beecher ran together for the first time this season. The foursome showed out in the event, running the fastest time for any Temple 4x4 this season at 3:48.60 and advancing to Saturday's finals.
> In the evening, Kira Von Ehren raced in a nontraditional outdoor 3000m under the lights at Franklin Field. Despite not quite matching her personal record on the indoor track from earlier this year, the junior shined in the event, resetting the outdoor program record to 9:52.31 to finish 11th overall.
> To conclude the day-one action for the Temple track and field team, sophomore Michelle Joyce and senior Katie Leisher competed in a late-night 5K. Leisher finished first out of the pair, clocking in at 17:07.99. Joyce trailed near behind her teammate, finishing the 5K in 17:15.73 for a new personal best time.
> Friday's action featured just two events due to vicious storms approaching the Philadelphia area. After surpassing a lightening delay, the sophomore duo of Candus Burks and Kayla Nesbitt-McEwen came out strong in the pouring rain to compete in front of the thrilling crowd. The pair shined in the prelims, with Burks hitting a season-best mark of 11.77m and Nesbitt-McEwen jumping 11.70m to advance into finals together. Burks' initial prelim mark of 11.77m ended up being her best on the day, good for a fourth place medal in the event. Nesbitt-McEwen hit her best jump of the day in 11.71m during finals, moving her up to seventh overall.
> Following the triple jump, the squad had a solid showing in their first 4x200m relay of the season. Out of the blocks for Temple was Williams, who ran a solid leg to hand off to fellow Smith. After competing at the CARIFTA Games this past weekend, freshman Marissa White was back on the track to run the third leg of the relay. She carried the baton into Beecher, who ran a steady anchor leg for the quartet. Overall, the Owls clocked in at 1:40.28 to finish 16th in the field.
From the Coach
> "Today was the final day of the Penn Relays, and the weather was very good as the afternoon went on," said head coach Elvis Forde. "I felt sad for Aisha in the morning because the wind was swirling so much that it kept blowing the bar off. While it may not have made a huge difference, I know it can be distracting for the athletes. Also, coming off of turf and onto a track surface was definitely an adjustment, but she handled it really well. To still get up to 1.74m under the circumstances was very impressive. She knows that she can jump 5' 11'—it's right there, it's just a matter of finding the ideal conditions and believing in herself and the competitive niche of the event will bring her to success.
> "The other event we ran was the 4x4 relay. When I look back and think about Aisha, it was a long day to manage from her 10 am event until the 5:25 pm relay. For her to come back and perform as well as she did in the 4x4 was extremely impressive. Sydney gave us a great lead leg, which is always crucial to set the tone for the rest of the race. Mallorie fought every step, all the way down to the finish line despite how much she ran this weekend and truly gave her best efforts. She handed off to Madison, who ran a very good leg to finish off the event for a season's best time. It was probably one of the best 4x4 times we have run in quite a long time, and to see that happen even when we are not at our best strengths was very encouraging.
> "Looking back, we definitely had some bumps and bruises along the way that caused us to withdraw from a couple of events, but it is more important for us to focus and be healthy for the conference meet in two weeks. Reality is, at this time of the year most teams are dealing with the same thing, so we just have to get ourselves as ready as possible over the next few weeks. I am very proud of our team and the way they competed, and I have great expectations that one day in the near future we will be out there on the podium holding a wheel."
Up Next
> With the 125th Penn Relays marking the conclusion of the 2019 regular season, the Owls will take a two-week hiatus from competition to prepare for the post season. On Friday, May 10 the squad will be set to compete at the three-day American Athletic Conference Outdoor Championships, hosted by Wichita State in Wichita, Ks.
Saturday Meet Highlights
> Brown got day three of the Relays started in the high jump in an extremely windy day at Franklin Field. The sophomore cleared opening height of 1.70m on her second attempt, advancing to 1.74m with five of her competitors. At her final clearance, she soared over the bar at 1.74m, good for a fourth place finish on the day.
> The Owls did not disappoint in their only relay on the day, competing in the College Women's 4x400 Eastern finals to close out their third day of competition. The squad ran the same quartet that brought them to the finals, which ran a season's best time of 3:48.60 on Thursday afternoon. The relay team of Sydney Williams, Mallorie Smith, Brown and Madison Beecher came out blazing in their final race of the weekend, shattering their previous time to finish fifth in 3:45.54.
Overall Penn Relays Highlights
> Day one of the Relays was highlighted by two new school-records and a slew of season-best time on the track at the historic Franklin Field. To get the day started, sophomore Sydney Williams opened the weekend action with a solid performance of 104.43 in the 400m hurdles.
> The squad raced in its first College Women's Distance Medley Championship of America Individual Medley on Thursday evening, representing Temple in good fashion. The quartet of Gottlieb (1200m, 3:28.19), Smith (400m, 54.79), McKenzie Gelvin (800m, 2:14.98) and Millie Howard (1600m, 4:52.76) shattered the DMR program record by four seconds, resetting it to 11:30.70 while they raced among some of the nation's fastest.
> On a quick turnaround, Temple was back on the track just 15 minutes later to race a familiar event in the 4x4. While the event may be common for the Owls, the squad of Smith, Williams, Brown and Beecher ran together for the first time this season. The foursome showed out in the event, running the fastest time for any Temple 4x4 this season at 3:48.60 and advancing to Saturday's finals.
> In the evening, Kira Von Ehren raced in a nontraditional outdoor 3000m under the lights at Franklin Field. Despite not quite matching her personal record on the indoor track from earlier this year, the junior shined in the event, resetting the outdoor program record to 9:52.31 to finish 11th overall.
> To conclude the day-one action for the Temple track and field team, sophomore Michelle Joyce and senior Katie Leisher competed in a late-night 5K. Leisher finished first out of the pair, clocking in at 17:07.99. Joyce trailed near behind her teammate, finishing the 5K in 17:15.73 for a new personal best time.
> Friday's action featured just two events due to vicious storms approaching the Philadelphia area. After surpassing a lightening delay, the sophomore duo of Candus Burks and Kayla Nesbitt-McEwen came out strong in the pouring rain to compete in front of the thrilling crowd. The pair shined in the prelims, with Burks hitting a season-best mark of 11.77m and Nesbitt-McEwen jumping 11.70m to advance into finals together. Burks' initial prelim mark of 11.77m ended up being her best on the day, good for a fourth place medal in the event. Nesbitt-McEwen hit her best jump of the day in 11.71m during finals, moving her up to seventh overall.
> Following the triple jump, the squad had a solid showing in their first 4x200m relay of the season. Out of the blocks for Temple was Williams, who ran a solid leg to hand off to fellow Smith. After competing at the CARIFTA Games this past weekend, freshman Marissa White was back on the track to run the third leg of the relay. She carried the baton into Beecher, who ran a steady anchor leg for the quartet. Overall, the Owls clocked in at 1:40.28 to finish 16th in the field.
From the Coach
> "Today was the final day of the Penn Relays, and the weather was very good as the afternoon went on," said head coach Elvis Forde. "I felt sad for Aisha in the morning because the wind was swirling so much that it kept blowing the bar off. While it may not have made a huge difference, I know it can be distracting for the athletes. Also, coming off of turf and onto a track surface was definitely an adjustment, but she handled it really well. To still get up to 1.74m under the circumstances was very impressive. She knows that she can jump 5' 11'—it's right there, it's just a matter of finding the ideal conditions and believing in herself and the competitive niche of the event will bring her to success.
> "The other event we ran was the 4x4 relay. When I look back and think about Aisha, it was a long day to manage from her 10 am event until the 5:25 pm relay. For her to come back and perform as well as she did in the 4x4 was extremely impressive. Sydney gave us a great lead leg, which is always crucial to set the tone for the rest of the race. Mallorie fought every step, all the way down to the finish line despite how much she ran this weekend and truly gave her best efforts. She handed off to Madison, who ran a very good leg to finish off the event for a season's best time. It was probably one of the best 4x4 times we have run in quite a long time, and to see that happen even when we are not at our best strengths was very encouraging.
> "Looking back, we definitely had some bumps and bruises along the way that caused us to withdraw from a couple of events, but it is more important for us to focus and be healthy for the conference meet in two weeks. Reality is, at this time of the year most teams are dealing with the same thing, so we just have to get ourselves as ready as possible over the next few weeks. I am very proud of our team and the way they competed, and I have great expectations that one day in the near future we will be out there on the podium holding a wheel."
Up Next
> With the 125th Penn Relays marking the conclusion of the 2019 regular season, the Owls will take a two-week hiatus from competition to prepare for the post season. On Friday, May 10 the squad will be set to compete at the three-day American Athletic Conference Outdoor Championships, hosted by Wichita State in Wichita, Ks.
Players Mentioned
Sprints
/ Women's Track and Field
Jumps
/ Women's Track and Field
Jumps
/ Women's Track and Field
Mid-Distance
/ Women's Track and Field
Mid-Distance
/ Women's Track and Field
Distance
/ Women's Track and Field
Distance
/ Women's Track and Field
Jumps
/ Women's Track and Field
Sprints
/ Women's Track and Field
Distance
/ Women's Track and Field
Sprints
/ Women's Track and Field
Sprints/Hurdles
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