US#1's @ PSU: Leonard 8.47 60H! Dendy 24.11 200! Clahane 9:59 3K!

Jan 24, 2015

Brooklynn Broadwater of Springside School (PA) won the girls 400 at the Kevin Dare Invitational with a US #3 clocking of 55.46 in the 400 meter dash. The junior and defending Pennsylvania state indoor 400 champ Broadwater was only two tenths off the meet record time.

Ciara Leonard of Cheltenham (PA) is looking a real national title contender in the 60 hurdles as one of the top returnees in the event, but also running her fastest ever this season including a new US #1 clocking and meet record time of 8.47 in the event at Penn State University.

In a matchup between two of the speediest in PA, Cheltenham sophomore Chanel Brissett got the slight lean on Pennridge senior Taylor Chapman (US #7 7.56) in a US #6 victory of 7.55. The state meet over a month away at the same venue will look to be just as close and thrilling between the US top 10 caliber sprinters.

Brissett attempted to come back to score another win later in the 200 meter dash, but she was denied by Padua Academy's Maiya Dendy, who rolled off the turn on the fast banked track at Penn State with a new national leading time of 24.11. The Delaware state champ Dendy also took down Brissett's former teammate Katelyn Jackson's meet record time of 24.43, which Brissett nearly matched in second place on Saturday at 24.46.

Brissett and Leonard teammed up later to help the Cheltenham girls lower their season best 4x200 meter relay time down to US #3 1:39.49. This quartet could go down as the fastest ever in Pennsylvania state history.

While the Cheltenham girls were just off a meet record in the 4x200, the St. John's College boys from DC were not. They took it down with their US #5 1:29.32 four-man effort.

Another US #1 time came immediately after the 200's in the girls 3K with Mady Clahane of Cumberland Valley (PA) able to pull away decisively from two accomplished runners in Marissa Sheva of Pennridge and earlier mile winner Lydia Olivere. Clahane became the first under 10 minutes for the 3K this year nationally with an outstanding race of 9:59.60 and winning margin of nearly 30 seconds over Shena in second place at 10:27.

Casey Comber, the Pennsylvania state cross country champ (set state meet course record) and Foot Locker finalist in the fall, was able to come away with the win in the boys 3K in a more strategic slower race with his final time of 9:02.

Michael Davenport, a Virginia private school state champion sprinter from Woodberry Forest, was a double winner in both the 60 (US #11 6.91) and 200 (US #6 21.72) as arguably one of the top boys performers of the meet, which was dominated by record breaking and national ranked girls performances.

Jocelyn Rutz, a junior from Kutztown Area (PA), uncorked a big mark of 44'4" in the girls shot put to win the event by nearly 5 feet. Just a foot off her US #9 season best throw of 45'4" from last weekend at Kent State University.

Two girls from Maryland both went over the old meet record mark in the long jump (18'8.75" by Jennifer Clayton of Suffern NY in 2010) with Elizabeth Seton senior Autumn Robinson reaching out for a US #5 leap of 19'3.25", but Riverdale Baptist junior Taylor Woods went just a bit further at US #2 19'6.50" for first place and sole possession of the new meet record.

Adding to the growing number of girls meet records that went down at the 2015 Kevin Dare Invitational, Tyrone Area (PA) junior Erika Voyzey successfully established the meet's new top standard in the girls high jump by clearing a US #2 height of 5'8".

Lydia Olivere, only a freshmen from Padua Academy in Delaware, won the girls mile in dominant fashion by 10 seconds in a 5:05 PR. Olivere was the Delaware state cross country champion in the fall and should be able to challenge sub 5 in the mile and sub 11 in the two mile this track season.