Hoosiers notch many bests at Penn Relays

The IU women's track and field squad accomplished four personal bests, two NCAA provisional-qualifying marks and one NCAA regional-qualifying mark at the 112th Penn Relays this weekend in Philadelphia.\nThe Penn Relays, one of the oldest and most prestigious meets in the country, took place April 27-29.\n"The atmosphere there is amazing," said Kelly Siefker, a senior distance runner. "It is a city that loves track and field and everyone knows the Penn Relays."\nSenior distance runner Larra Overton agreed with the assessment of the immense fervor of the meet.\n"The crowd was in the thousands, the weather was beautiful, and the noise was booming the whole time you're on the track," Overton said. "My heart was pounding so hard, even before my race started." \nIU took part in the bulk of their events April 27. Freshman Stephanie Greer and junior \nJessica Gall earned personal bests in the 3,000-meter event. In the long-jump, sophomore Zakiya Robinson leaped 5.86 meters to a personal best. In the 5,000-meter event, Siefker recorded a personal best and an NCAA provisional-qualifying mark with a time of 16 minutes, 39.365 seconds. Junior Lindsay Hattendorf finished with a NCAA provisional-qualifying time as well, running the event in 16:42.731.\nApril 28 was quiet for the Hooisers, but April 29 had one IU athlete -- senior Ara Towns -- compete in the relays. Towns ran in the 100-meter event and finished with a NCAA regional-qualifying mark with a time of 11.66. \n"The team as a whole got done what we needed to get done and is looking forward to improving and making a good showing at the Big Ten meet in a few weeks," Gall said.\nDespite the tough competition and atmosphere, the meet was primarily used to prepare for the Big Ten Championships and other post-season meets, Gall said.\n"This meet was just a building block for the more meaningful meets at the end of the season," Gall said.