SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – Nicola Puggé; and Sara McKean won conference titles on Friday, and the 4x100-meter relay set a conference record during prelims as the Shippensburg University women's outdoor track & field team competed at the 2023 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Outdoor Track & Field Championships hosted by Slippery Rock University.
 
Puggé completed the seven-event heptathlon with a victorious score of 4,525 points, achieving a narrow 24-point victory over Clarion's Jenna Uncapher. On Friday, Puggé led all competitors in the javelin throw (123 feet, 6 inches) and finished the competition with a huge personal best of 243 points, as her previous PR of 4,282 points was achieved at last year's Bison Outdoor Classic.
 
Friday culminates an impressive 2022-23 season for Puggé, who won the 2023 PSAC indoor championship in the pentathlon.
 
McKean came through with her second 20-foot long jump of the season to claim the conference title, enhancing her season best by ¼ inch with a top mark of 20 feet, 0 ½ inches that was achieved on her third attempt. Now tied for 10th on the national list, McKean's sequence during her preliminary jumps was especially impressive – as all three marks would have been the winning performance (19 feet, 11 ½ inches on attempt 1; 19 feet, 6 ¼ inches on attempt 2).
 
Sasha Lee was the runner-up to McKean, scoring a second-place mark of 18 feet, 5 ¾ inches on her second attempt. Allyson Richwine had an impressive debut in the high jump, scoring a fourth-place clearance of 5 feet, 3 ¼ inches.
 
Seven events ran preliminaries on Friday, and the Raiders advanced seven individuals to track finals. Most noteworthy was the aforementioned 4x100-meter relay, as the quartet of Aliyah Serrano, McKean, Kayla Dalhouse and Leah Graybill broke the all-time PSAC record with a time of 46.34 seconds.
 
Graybill and Serrano are each qualified for the finals of both the 100 and 200 meters, while Lee is the top seed in the 100-meter hurdle finals. Melanie Barger will join Lee in the 100-meter hurdle finals, while Caroline Mastria is positioned as the No. 2 seed in the 400-meter finals.
 
Shippensburg is currently in fourth place in the team standings with 33 points, just one point behind third-place Edinboro. Slippery Rock is in the lead with 48.5 points, while Millersville is second with 40 points.
 
Fourteen events will have champions crowned on Saturday. Field competition begins at 11 a.m., while the track finals begin at 12:30 p.m.
 
Friday Finals
 
3,000 Steeplechase
No entries
 
High Jump
4. Allyson Richwine 5' 3 ¼" (1.61m)
13. Norah Vallon 4' 11 ½" (1.51m)
Kayla Dalhouse NH
 
Long Jump
1. Sara McKean 20' 0 ½" (6.11m)
2. Sasha Lee 18' 5 ¾" (5.63m)
 
Discus
9. Makayla Decker 128' 11" (39.29m)
14. Payton Bauer 120' 6" (36.73m)
16. ShanAnn Simmons 118' (35.97m)
17. Lauren Bellows 110' 7" (33.72m)
 
Heptathlon
1. Nicola Puggé; 4525
11. Kyli Moon-Rumsey 3876
12. Macy Hines 3833
 
Friday Preliminaries
 
100
3. Aliyah Serrano 12.09q
5. Leah Graybill 12.18q
17. Kayla Dalhouse 12.67
 
200
2. Leah Graybill 24.02q
5. Aliyah Serrano 24.55q
19. Kayla Dalhouse 26.02
 
400
2. Caroline Mastria 56.92q
10. Alyssa Wert 59.42
 
800
10. Kyra Gerber 2:21.52
 
100 Hurdles
1. Sasha Lee 14.24q
8. Melanie Barger 15.30q
 
400 Hurdles
9. Melanie Barger 1:06.73
 
4x1 Relay
1. Aliyah Serrano, Sara McKean, Kayla Dalhouse, Leah Graybill 46.34 (PSAC record) (NCAA 'P')