Pitt concluded its outdoor track and field season at the at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon. Five Panthers traveled to the meet, and all were given the title of .听
Members of the 4×400 meter relay team, junior Malik Ricketts, junior Nigel Hussey, junior Stephon Brown and sophomore Devin Nugent, competed on June 5 鈥� the opening night of the meet.听
Ricketts noted that the relay鈥檚 qualification came from the consistent hard work the members have put in since last fall.
鈥淟ike I said, we worked hard for this. We鈥檝e been working since last fall,鈥� Ricketts said. 鈥淪o, we knew that was the aim to make nationals.鈥�
Hussey spoke on the experience of traveling to and competing in Oregon in relation to its effect on preparation before the big race.听
鈥淚t was a little bit of a different experience 鈥� even for the traveling part, going to the west coast and running there and having to adapt to the time changes and stuff like that,鈥� Hussey said.听
The relay placed seconds. All relay members earned Honorable Mention All-American status. The team has high hopes for next season, with all four members returning to the team.听
鈥淭he guys are really motivated 鈥� next year, coming back and working 10 times harder to just do better than before. It鈥檚 the mentality of each of us,鈥� Ricketts said.听
Senior Ilse Steigenga competed in both the across the remaining three days. Steigenga placed . She earned Honorable Mention All-American distinction for the feat.
Steigenga competed in the heptathlon across two days. , which combines the 100-meter hurdles, high jump, shot put, the 200-meter dash, long jump, javelin and the 800-meter dash, is based on a points system over a two-day combination of points, which decides the final placement.听
On the first day, Steigenga received
native totaled 5081 points, which gave her a 22nd-place finish overall and Honorable Mention All-American status.听
Steigenga spoke on her experience running at the championships, despite setbacks that, without determination, could have derailed her race.
鈥溾�嬧�媁hat felt most important to me was that I would finish the heptathlon [even though] my fall in the hurdles took away the opportunity to get a good end result,鈥� Steigenga said. 鈥淭o not give up and still get to show the hard work we鈥檝e put in during training, [it was nice to compete] on the big stage against the best in a historic stadium where I always wanted to compete in.鈥�
鈥淭his season started with an injury, and to end with my best ACC championship results and to compete in two events at the NCAAs was rewarding,鈥� Steigenga said.听
After a successful season, the Panthers will return back to the track in August.