Philadelphia, Pa. -- In what YSU head coach Brian Gorby
described as "Penn Relays Magic," junior Lauren Blase ran a
personal-best and school record time of 17:01.71 at the Penn Relays
on Thursday.
Blase, who beat her previous-best time by over 28 seconds, broke
the school record by 12 seconds at the event. The time is also the
best 5,000m time ever recorded in YSU history, counting both the
indoor and outdoor circuit.
"We've had a lot of talented state champions and national
caliber 5,000m runners come through YSU in the past 20 years and
for Lauren to break it by 12 seconds is impressive," said
Gorby.
Also at the relays, the tandem of seniors R.D. Goodright and
J.D. Sheppard, sophomore Jake Lape and freshman Kiplangat Tisia
shattered the school record in the 4x800m relay by running a time
of 7:38.63 In front of 45,500 fans and a national ESPNTV
audience.
Tisia also lowered his regional qualifying time by three seconds
in the 3,000m steeplechase by running a 9:02.56.
Jake Lape and Michael Perri also ran a personal-best times at
the meet. Lape ran a time of 9:35.12 in the 3,000m steeplechase,
while Perri ran 54.18 in the 400m hurdles.
The Penguins are off until Thursday, when they travel to Chicago
to take part in the Horizon League Outdoor Championships. The
women's squad will look to defend their outdoor title, while the
men will look to overcome their second-place finish from a year
ago.