The Shippensburg University women's outdoor track & field team sits in second place through two days of competition at the 2024 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Championships being held at Seth Grove Stadium.
 
Shippensburg won two of the five events contested Saturday, as Makayla Decker won the discus on a PR throw of 140 feet, 4 inches (42.77 meters), while Sara McKean matched her top seed in the long jump and claimed the gold medal on a top distance of 18 feet, 11 ¼ inches (5.77 meters).
 
An important factor moving forward for the Raiders is that, of the 14 individuals who qualified for prelims (100 meters, 200 meters, 400 meters, 800 meters, 100-meter hurdles, 400-meter hurdles), all but two made it into Sunday's finals for their respective events.
 
Action resumes at 11 a.m. Sunday.
 
Here's a Saturday breakdown:
 
• MCKEAN WINS LONG JUMP, RAIDERS PLACE THREE
McKean successfully defended her PSAC long jump title but had to battle Kutztown junior Kacie Sienko, who made a late charge for the league crown. Entering finals, McKean held the lead with a jump of 18 feet, 5 ¼ inches.
 
Fifth attempts proved vital, as four of the Top 5 finishers had their top marks come on their fifth attempt. Sienko jumped into the lead with a leap of 18 feet, 8 inches, moving her from seventh place into the lead. IUP freshman Nataiah Robertson had jumped 18 feet, 6 ½ inches on her fifth attempt shortly before.
 
McKean stepped up to the runway and delivered what proved to be the winning mark – 18 feet, 11 ¼ inches – and landed a jump of 18 feet, 9 ¾ inches on her sixth and final attempt that proved to also be the second-best overall of the competition.
 
SU was 3-for-3 in scorers in the event, as Sasha Lee finished seventh and Ryleigh Marks. Lee scored in the long jump for the third straight year (second in 2023, fourth in 2022).
 
• DECKER WINS DISCUS, RAIDERS SCORE 17 POINTS
Decker, who made the finals of the discus as a first-year thrower last year but finished ninth, won the competition on her second throw. Her PR by one inch proved to be enough and held up against a late charge from a pair of Millersville throwers who also delivered 42-meter throws.
 
Three Raiders scored in the event and it was the first career scoring performance for all of them. Joining Decker on the podium was ShanAnn Simmons, who finished fourth (126 feet, 2 inches) and Lauren Bellows, who finished seventh (124 feet, 2 inches).
 
• PUGGE COMPLETES ALL-PSAC MULTI, QUALIFIES FOR GERMAN U23 OLYMPICS
Puggé recorded her third straight Top 5 finish in the heptathlon and her second straight All-PSAC finish, completing the seven-event competition with a third-place score of 4,509 points. She was just 16 points shy of her victorious score from last season.
 
On Saturday, Puggé landed a long jump of 17 feet, 2 ¾ inches (5.25 meters), tossed the javelin 112 feet, 5 inches, and completed the 800 meters in 2:39.11. It was just enough to stave off Edinboro's Madeline Newark, who was just 12 points behind her and finished in fourth place overall.
 
Also exciting for Puggé is that fact that, by surpassing the 4,500-point mark, it qualifies her to compete in the U-23 German Olympics held this summer. She will be competing in the heptathlon in her homeland in August by virtue of her accomplishment this weekend.
 
• BENDER SCORES IN VAULT
First-year jumper Carissa Bender scored in the pole vault, which was held indoors due to the miserable weather outside. Bender tied for seventh place by clearing 11 feet, 3 inches.
 
• PRELIMS
As previously referenced, 12 of the 14 individual Raider qualifiers "made it back." Leah Graybill earned the top seed in the 100 meters and the 200 meters, while Caroline Mastria landed the top seed in the 400 meters. Aliyah Serrano is the No. 2 seed behind Graybill in both the 100 and 200, and Lee is the No. 2 seed in the 100-meter hurdles.
 
McKean made it three Raiders in the 100-meter finals by earning the No. 6 seed. Marks is the No. 3 seed in the 100-meter hurdle finals. Alyssa Wert (Garnet Valley, Pa./Garnet Valley) will join Mastria in the 400-meter finals as the No. 6 seed. Kelsey Hull is the No. 5 seed in the 800. Madison Malcolm and Melanie Barger will be the No. 4 and No. 5 seeds respectively in the 400-meter hurdles.
 
Serrano, McKean, Kayla Dalhouse and Graybill achieved the top seed for the 4x100-meter relay finals by running 46.76 seconds.
 
SATURDAY FINALS
 
3K Steeplechase
18. Leah Moffitt 12:32.47
 
Long Jump
1. Sara McKean 18' 11 ¼" (5.77m)
7. Sasha Lee 18' 0 ¼' (5.49m)
8. Ryleigh Marks 17' 8 ¼" (5.39m)
 
Discus
1. Makayla Decker 140' 4" (42.77m)
4. ShanAnn Simmons 126' 2" (38.46m)
7. Lauren Bellows 124' 2" (37.84m)
14. Carly Bennett 112' 9" (34.37m)
 
Pole Vault
T7. Carissa Bender 11' 3" (3.43m)
Katie McNesby NH
 
Heptathlon
3. Nicola Puggé; 4509
 
Heptathlon Long Jump
3. Nicola Puggé; 17' 2 ¾" (5.25m)
 
Heptathlon Javelin Throw
2. Nicola Puggé; 112' 5" (34.27m)
 
Heptathlon 800
8. Nicola Puggé; 2:39.11
 
SATURDAY PRELIMS
 
100
1. Leah Graybill 12.04q
2. Aliyah Serrano 12.15q
6. Sara McKean 12.32q
 
200
1. Leah Graybill 24.35q
2. Aliyah Serrano 24.84q
 
400
1. Caroline Mastria 56.43q
6. Alyssa Wert 58.62q
 
800
5. Kelsey Hull 2:20.89q
 
100m Hurdles
2. Sasha Lee 14.65q
3. Ryleigh Marks 14.76q
13. Madison Malcolm 15.38
 
400m Hurdles
4. Madison Malcolm 1:04.00q
5. Melanie Barger 1:04.36q
16. Ryleigh Marks 1:10.73
 
4x100 Meter Relay
1. Aliyah Serrano, Sara McKean, Kayla Dalhouse, Leah Graybill 46.76q