Varner breaks Juniata pole vault record to lead Eagles at Allegheny Invitational

MEADVILLE, Pa. -- Juniata College senior Stephanie Varner (Huntingdon, Pa./Huntingdon) broke her own Juniata record in the pole vault to lead a contingent of five Eagle track and field athletes at the Allegheny College Gator Invitational, Friday at Allegheny's Robertson Complex.

Varner took fourth place in the pole vault and finished as the top Division III competitor. Her clearance of 3.25 meters (10-8) was a two inch improvement on the previous record that she set at this meet two years ago. After clearing the opening height of 2.95m on her first attempt, she took two attempts to clear the second height of 3.10m. Then she finally cleared the record setting bar on her first attempt, her fourth jump of the competition. 

Varner will have one more chance to further improve upon the record at next week's ECAC Championship.

Junior jumper Nick Bauer (Glen Ridge, N.J./Glen Ridge) also produced a strong performance, as he leaped a personal best of 6.95 meters (22-9 3/4) in the long jump to take fourth place. That mark eclipsed his previous best by just over an inch and ranks Bauer fourth on the all-time performance list for Juniata College in the event.

Sophomore standout Angie Shaffer (Prospect, Pa./Slippery Rock) competed in two events. She tied for second in the high jump with a clearance of 1.60m (5-3) and took third in the 100m hurdles, matching her season best time of 15.61 seconds.

Junior hurdler Erika Brown (Hollidaysburg, Pa./Hollidaysburg) posted a personal best time of 1:08.16 in the 400m hurdles as she stormed form behind over the final 100 meters of the race to win her heat. Her time was nearly a two second improvement on her previous best.

Junior sprinter Aaron McCoy (Muncy, Pa./Hughesville) had a rough day in the 100 meter race as his blocks slipped at the start and he was relegated to a 15th place finish with a time of 11.34 seconds.

Up next on the schedule are the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Championships hosted by Moravian College in Bethlehem, Pa., on Thursday and Friday, May 19-20.

-30-