MANSFIELD – Hunter Watkins and Ryan Clifford earned All-PSAC honors in the javelin throw and 5K respectively to wrap up the PSAC Outdoor Track & Field championships on Saturday afternoon.
Senior Kenzie Jones opened the day for Mansfield in the women's portion of the 5K, recording an eighth place finish with a time of 18:30.58. Her time was good enough to reach the podium and was her second best time in her collegiate career in the event.
The Mountaineers then sent a quartet of Mamadou Diallo, Travis Keefe, Jordan Holmes, and Ryan Morrissette to take part in the men's 4x800-meter relay. Diallo recorded the fastest split of the four Mounties during his turn with a 2:03.86 finish.
Freshman Lyndsey Payne would take her turn in the women's 1,500-meter run. Payne's time of 5:02.76 was her fourth best finish of the season in the event. Her split of 1:01.03 on the first lap was the 9th fastest in a field of over 20 runners.
Watkins put a cap on what has been a historic season in the javelin throw with a top distance of 62.94-meters. It was his second-best throw of the season and third-best of his career. The throw also was good enough for Watkins to earn All-PSAC honors for the second consecutive season.
Clifford once again turn in a stellar performance for Mansfield, this time coming in the men's portion of the 5K. Clifford recorded a third-place finish at 15:12.28 after jockeying for the top spot against Josh Coakley of West Chester and Colton Cassel of Edinboro for the majority of the race. The time was good enough to secure All-PSAC honors for the senior, which would prove to be historic as Clifford compiled All-PSAC honors in all three events he participated in during the championships.
Quincy Amabile joined Clifford in the 5K, and would not disappoint. Amabile's 15:21.84 finish was good enough to reach the podium as the sixth-place finisher. The "Velociraptor" kicked his way to his second-best finish of his career in the event and missed a new PR by less than one second.
Shippensburg claimed the men's team title with 145.5 points on the weekend while Slippery Rock took home the women's portion of the title with 121 points.
